The Price of Trust
by Bryon Nightshade
Summary: On a mission to Robotropolis, Sonic and Sally are seperated and sent away. Now both must earn the trust of those around them if they are ever going to return home. But they also have to stop Robotnik's newest plan- if they can figure out what it is!


The Twin Tales

Prologue: This didn't work out, did it?

            "Sal, this is the third time at the same spot. And we never get to trash anything. What's up?"

            "Quiet, Sonic. I'll tell you in a minute. Okay, go!"

            Two small figures dashed from building to building behind a slow-moving hover unit. Hidden in its blind spot, they were safe to approach their target. As it approached a larger building, they hid again.

            "Sonic, we'll get in the same way as last time once we've made sure it's safe."

            "Gotcha. Get out the ol' rangefinders and we'll take a look." Sally pulled two pair from Sonic's backpack. They both turned their rangefinders on an opening near the top.

            "I don't see any cameras. Do you?"

            "Nada, Sal. Didja check ground level below it?"

            "Already done. Nothing there, either."

            "Alright. You ready, Sal?"

            "Any time you are, Sonic. Let's do it to it!"

            Sonic scooped up Sally. Making sure the hover unit couldn't see them, he ran towards the side of the large building. Once there, they used grappling guns to quickly scale the building and sneak inside.

            As soon as they were inside, they assessed the situation. The area was dark, and there were large boxes everywhere. Each was large enough to hold an animal of their sizes. "This is all cargo coming in from other cities under Robotnik's control," Sally explained.

            "So, why do we keep coming here to scope 'em out?"

            "To find out what Robotnik really needs and to find out when those shipments come in," Sally answered. "Then, if we disrupt those shipments, Robotnik's industries will grind to a halt." She grabbed at her boot. "Nicole, scan these boxes as we go along."  
            "Working now, Sally."

            "Sonic, let's do an inspection. Round the whole thing."

            "Wait, Sal. Do you hear something?"

            They stood still for a tense moment, listening. It seemed to be getting closer. Sonic and Sally ducked behind boxes as the doors to the area opened. They could hear Swatbots giving orders. "Worker-bots, move-boxes-twenty-three-to-twenty-six-to-bay-three. Boxes-zero-to-twenty-two-go-to-bay-four." The commands continued, but Sally had already joined Sonic rather than listen. 

"Sonic, there's only a few. We need to get around them before they start going out the doors or they'll see us!"

            "Gotcha. Hold on, Sal!"

            Quickly he ran through the doors, down the stairs and around the corner. Again, they were in a cargo bay. "These are exports," explained Sally. "It might be worth it to scan these, too."

            "Sal, I don't like this. This building seems a lot more active this time."

            "That means Robotnik is up to something. That's the last thing we need."

            "Hey, these boxes look different. They look… thicker."

            "How can you tell?"

            "Beats me. I just feel it, Sal."

            "Nicole, scan these boxes."

            "Sally, I am unable to determine the contents of these boxes from the outside."

            Sonic and Sally exchanged nervous glances. "What? Why not?"

            "These boxes are somehow shielded. I am unable to penetrate the shielding with my scanners."

            "Is there any way to determine their contents?"

            "Look at the labels."

            Sally walked about, looking at some of them. Sonic tailed her, alert for trouble.

            "Nothing… nothing… nothing… these aren't labeled. They've been completely sealed. Almost like they needed to be sanitized… wait, here's one. 'Kite reller'. I have no idea…"

            "Sal, bots comin'!"

            "What?!"

            They hid just in time. They heard the doors open, the clank of bot feet, and the muffled sound of boots. Sally hissed at Sonic. "It's Snively!"

"All right, now, all Swatbots, fan out and search the aisles. We want to be sure no Freedom Fighters are here before we ship this cargo. Move it!"

            Sally and Sonic looked at each other nervously. "There's no way we'll get past all of them!"

            "Sonic, we'll hide in some of the boxes!"

            "You gotta be kidding me! We don't know what's in there and they'll be sealed tight—no air!"

            "Nicole will get us in. We just won't shut the boxes all the way." Sally waved at Sonic. "There's no time! Just move it! Nicole, open boxes…"

            Reverberations of Swatbot marching spooked the furs. "Hurry, Sal!"

            "…Forty-nine and fifty!"

            The two boxes opened. Sally crawled into one, Sonic the other. "See you when we get there, Sal!"

            Sonic inspected his box. The cargo was small for such a large box; the airtight cylinders giving him just enough room to squeeze in. He wanted to discard his backpack to give him more room, but a bot would notice it lying around. Before he could say anything, he heard Sally say, "Nicole, close box doors to within one millimeter."

            Sonic didn't want only one millimeter! But there was nothing he could do to stop it. Any more and they'd be noticed for certain. He just hoped that one millimeter would be enough to keep him alive.

            "Okay, Swatbots, load boxes zero to forty-nine in freighter 609. The rest go to freighter 1818. Move it, we're behind schedule!" Of course, that last bit didn't make the Swatbots move any faster, but Snively loved the imperious feeling it gave him.

            "Snively! Is everything ready?"

            Snively's imperious feelings vanished at the sound of Robotnik's voice. "Uh, not quite, sir. We're loading them now."

            "Make sure everything is completely safe. I want nothing interfering with kite reller!"

            "Yes, sir." Robotnik's voice did not return. "'Make sure everything is completely safe…' what does he think I am? An idiot? And he can take that kite reller and shove it up his…"

            "Snively!"

            "Ah-ah-ah- yes sir?"

            "Are you SURE everything's secure?"

            "Oh, yes, sir. Not even an insect could interfere with this shipment!"

            Once Sally knew the cargo hold was shut, she opened her box and spilled out. She took several gasps of air—breathing slowly for so long took a lot of effort. Slowly, she got up and did a double-take. Her box was in the corner. She grabbed Nicole. "Nicole, what box number was Sonic in?"

            "Box #50."

            "Is box #50 here?"

            "Negative, Sally."

            "Oh no! How did we get separated?"

            "Perhaps there were two groups of boxes for two different destinations."

            "But… Nicole, how many boxes were there?"

            "One hundred."

            "Then… oh, Robotnik starts at zero, not one! Oh, how stupid of me!"

            Nicole sat by, impassive. "Sorry, Nicole, but I don't know where we're going, and I don't know where Sonic is going. If we're apart, we may never get back to Knothole." Her faculties began to work. "Speaking of which… Nicole, what direction are we headed?"

            "North by northwest, Sally."

            "How long have we been…"

            "Not even an hour. I anticipate a long journey. We are most likely headed for the territory of the former Northern Cabal, destroyed in the Great War."

            "Where, exactly?"

            "We are on course for the former capital, Center City. There isn't anything else on this route that merits importance."

            "That far north? I should have brought a jacket. Better idea: I should have brought a meal. I'm starving! But wasn't Center City completely destroyed?"

            "Robotnik, then Julian, reported the city wiped out in the final battle of the Great War. Knowing what we know of him now, I have a tendency to give credit to his claim."

            "Then how could we be headed there?"

            "Insufficient data."

            "Speculate."

            "Possibilities include: Robotnik did not destroy Center City; or he has since rebuilt it."

            "That's not enough to go on. Hmm… I'm not eager to waste this time. What was the name on the box?"

            "Kite reller."

            "Define 'reller'."

            "No definition available, Sally."

            "Okay, define verb "to rell"."

            "No definition available."

            "Try all languages in your database."

            This time it took several seconds, but Nicole returned the same result: "No definition available."

            "Search for definitions of 'kite' and report on anything Robotnik might possibly be interested in."

            "Insufficient data."

            "So you mean there's absolutely nothing we know about 'kite reller'."

            "That is correct."

            "Wonderful." She looked at the cylinders inside her box. "Can you scan the cylinders now, Nicole?"

            "Negative. They are shielded, too."

            "Robotnik's security is very tight on this one," Sally observed. "It's gotta be important. You wouldn't recommend opening that, would you?"

            "Negative, Sally. Knowing what we know of Robotnik, it is more likely to be deadly to you than it is to be harmless."

            Sally scanned the room, looking at the fifty boxes on board. "Thanks for the comfort, Nicole."

            Sonic was so cold. He didn't have nearly enough room to prepare a spin and bust out of his box. All he could do was shiver there miserably, trying to breathe slowly.

            Sonic wanted outoutOUT of that box.

            Eventually, he put his face down towards the opening of the box and slept. It was one of the better things he could have done. Sleeping slowed his metabolism and his breathing; his face was towards his air supply.

            It kept him alive.

            When the freighter stopped, Sally had no desire to stay and wait to be discovered. She discreetly exited the freighter while it was docking for unloading. She went into the cargo bay next to her point of arrival to cool off and sort things out.

            Much to her surprise, she found several animals already there. None of them looked very happy to see her. They were mostly strong looking but gangly creatures, well armed and equipped. All wore black clothing.

            "Hello," she said, though startled. "I was just leaving…"

            She saw a few of them make hand signals. From behind a box emerged a bear, and the hand signals stopped. Gazing at the sheer size of him, Sally was amazed that she hadn't seen the creature before. "Hi," she said to him, trying again. "I'm Princess Sally. I just want…"

            She never got the chance to finish her sentence. The bear made a simple hand signal. It drew a claw across its neck and tapped its temple. Stars exploded in Sally's vision and the world spun all around into nothingness.

            "Boy, that mission went well." A ferret was running hot water into a glass jar.

            His doe partner interrupted rummaging through cabinets to scoff at him. "Well, don't just blame the girl. Security on that blasted port station gets better every week."

            "Yeah, well, maybe we go there a little too often."

            "Hey, don't you even try to go into talking about policy again. I won't listen."

            The ferret shrugged. "Hey, who's talking policy? I just have a few suggestions."

            "You make those suggestions and I'll get you with this stuff!" The doe waved a bag of something at the ferret. "Then you'll make a whole lot of suggestions! Who do you think you are? The Colonel?"

            "Mobius forbid." The ferret placed the jar over fire to bring it to a boil. "The Colonel has kept us alive for so long. I don't envy his job."

            "Then stop acting like it," the doe finished. "Ah, here they are."

            "So, whose idea was it to do this? The Colonel's? Or Major Bolov's?"

            "Bolov's. For all we know, Bolov hasn't even reported in about the incident. He probably has; he tells the Colonel everything."

            "The Colonel listens to Bolov too much and everyone else too little."

            The doe waved an angry paw at the ferret. "Don't let me catch you bad-mouthing the Colonel again, got it?"

            "Cool it, cool it. I'm just saying, Bolov gets a little… opinionated. If the Colonel listens to no one else, he's bound to pick up Bolov's opinion of things. That may or may not be bad, but it isn't good."

            "Come off your soapbox. 'Ours is not to reason why…'"

            "'…Ours is but to do and die,' I read you. The water's hot enough, now."

            "Right." The doe dunked a needle into the boiling water.

            "So, you wanna flip a coin over who goes in?"

            "No way, wise guy. I did the last one."

            "But that was so long ago!"

            "What's your point?"

            "My point is, now we can start fresh!"

            "No way. I did the last three! We're both good, but it's your turn!"

            "Alright, alright, I give. I'll ask the questions, you get the answers. It'll be ready now."

            "Hmm? Oh, right." The doe pulled the needle out of the water and injected it into the bag. "Just remember," she said, passing the ferret the needle, "service with a smile."

            "Of course. 'Hi, I'm Felam, and I'll be your interrogator today. How may I help you?'"

            "Perfect. Now get in there."

            "Yes, ma'am, Corporal Bruder."

            "Please relax," said Corporal Felam. The girl was strapped motionless to a chair at the end of the room. The lighting was dim, but sufficient. He made sure the needle was working, then advanced towards her. He wondered about her clothing—seemed very light to him, as did her fur, but who could tell where she came from. Well, he would know soon enough. Her eyes must be very big, he thought, if the size of her blindfold was any indication. He wanted to see her eyes. It all seemed more real, somehow, when you could see the animal's eyes. But he knew perfectly well that it was vastly better to keep them blindfolded. He could lift the blindfold once he'd injected her, but looking at their eyes after the injection was never worthwhile. They always looked glazed over and stupid.

            He sighed as if already tired. He cursed his laziness—he was a little rusty in his technique, but he'd manage. He approached her softly and went to her side. From there he carefully swabbed her neck. "Please don't jerk," he told her, grabbing her neck collar. Although her neck was immobilized, if she jerked her body she would throw off his aim, and that would prove disastrous. Another wish passed through his mind—he wished subjects could be unconscious when they were injected. But that never worked, he knew.

            Carefully, professionally, he sized up his angle, selecting the artery that went straight to the brain. Then, in a competent stick, the liquid injection was in her bloodstream. A quick pull removed the needle.

            The whole process was short, taking a couple of seconds at most, and was almost painless. He stood up and removed her blindfold. He was genuinely surprised by her expression. Most prisoners had faces of fear, or usually anger. Sometimes they just didn't care, though those were few and far between. But she showed no emotion, simply a question: why?

            That was her expression. Why? Try as he might, he had no answer for that. Instead, he waited for the injection to do its work. Slowly, her expression changed, drooping, until she slipped into a sort of semi-consciousness.

            Felam took a deep breath, then began. "What is your name?"

            The answer was slurred heavily, as they always were, but it was understandable. "My name is Princess Sally Acorn."

            Corporal Bruder watched the process and made sure all the recording equipment was working correctly. Personally, she wouldn't have started this girl off with interrogation, especially under drugs. There was always a risk that the drugs would screw up an animal, and she didn't want this girl to be poisoned like that.

            Yes, there were some truly despicable animals that she'd interrogated, and some so destroyed in the soul that she wanted to shoot them just to end their sorrow. But every now and then, you'd get attached to one of them, and you'd have to interrogate them anyway… Yeah, this girl looked like she had a lot of promise. Bruder wished they'd met differently.

            Bruder dismissed her inner musings as unworthy of her attention. She settled in to listen and watch the interrogation to come.

            A Swatbot inspected the cargo hold to ensure that nothing in the payload had arrived damaged. The Swatbot would not have done anything differently if this had been a run of something mundane, but knowing that this was part of project kite reller added a certain degree of importance to ensuring that the check went well.

            The freighter hadn't even docked yet when the Swatbot's inspection began. It would prove to be a quick affair. The very first box the Swatbot inspected was opened slightly. The Swatbot opened the box completely to see if anything was damaged.

            The bot never had a chance to react. All it saw was a blur of blue. Then its legs were cut out from under it.

            Sonic Hedgehog had arrived!

Chapter One: We're where?

            Sonic was in a strange city in a strange setting. He was a stranger in a strange land. One thing, however, was not a stranger to him: hordes of Swatbots out for his pelt.

            He ran hard, smashing Swatbots that posed too great a chance of stopping him, until he made it to the junk heaps of that city. He paused for a scant second, knowing it would be difficult to find him in the typical Robotropolis-style maze of trash.

            Out as far as he could see was flat land. Yes, there were some bushes and stunted trees—though none too close to the city, of course—but the land itself was flat. Sonic wondered to himself, how could any Freedom Fighter group be out here? How could anyone avoid Robotnik in a place like this?

            But he knew from experience that he couldn't hold off the bots forever. They knew he was in the city somewhere. They'd call for reinforcements and scour the city. He might evade them for a while, but not day in and day out. And if he were under attack, Freedom Fighter groups—if there were any here—probably wouldn't risk themselves to rescue Sonic from the line of fire. Too dangerous.

            Sonic made his decision, then. He ran out into the flatlands, straight out, making a beeline for the rising sun.

            Major Bolov was cleaning his blaster when the call came in. Pausing to rest his paws, the great bear answered it. "Bolov."

            "Major, it's Felam. We have the report from the girl's interrogation."

            Bolov turned up the volume. "Proceed."

            "She claims to be the daughter of the former King, Maximillian Acorn. She calls herself Princess Sally."

            Bolov began cleaning again. "I assumed Robotnik would put the clamps on the royal family as soon as he took power. That he missed means I overestimated his ability."

            "Not quite. Her father was caught and banished to another dimension. Her own experience in escaping the coup is confused; she spoke as if she were in two places at once. It was difficult to piece together, but just getting the pieces that were verified by the rest of her story, she escaped the coup to a village called Knothole. She's been on her own for about eleven years."

            Bolov stopped his cleaning again. "Are you sure that all of this is accurate?"

            "Major, Bruder here, sir. As per your instructions, we used the highest concentration available—a level one, sir. The chance that she could lie to that is so small it's insignificant. Everything she told us is what she believes to be the truth."

            "I see. Continue." Bolov continued himself.

            "Yes, sir. She is the commander of a strike team known as the Freedom Fighters."

            Bolov's hand slipped. Always, he thought angrily to himself, always they claim the side of freedom and justice! They haven't changed one bit. Well, when faced with a foe like Robotnik, it's possible they might finally be right.

            "We have an analysis of the team's capability, but our analysis doesn't match up with the information we got from her. They're frying much bigger fish than they've got a right to, sir."

            Bruder's voice came in again. "Meaning that either our analysis is wrong—or she's the one in the "one-in-a-million" disclaimer on our narcotics."

            "I understood well enough, Bruder. Is there anything else that came out of your interrogation?"

            "We have an explanation of her presence here, several sets of data on other, quote, "Freedom Fighter", unquote, groups, and information concerning all the things the girl has been doing over the past few years. We sent her computer—that thing attached to her boot that you were worried about, Major,-- down to the lab for analysis."

            "Good, good."

            "There was one discrepancy, though, sir."

            "That is?"

            "When pressed to give the location of her group's base of operations, she did not."

            Bolov slammed his blaster down. "Why not?" he asked with calm in his voice.

            "We don't know. She either could not or would not. If she would not, it casts doubts on all our other information from her. Again, that would mean she's an anomaly—an animal immune to drugs. If she could not… we don't know what that could mean."

            I can think of a few theories, thought Bolov, but they don't stand up well at roll call. "Thank you, Felam. After you and Bruder clean up, resume your normal duty cycles. But don't get too comfortable; we may need you to deal with her again soon enough."

            "Yes, sir."

            The communicator clicked off as Bolov snapped his blaster back together. He would have to tell the Colonel about all of this. If this girl was indeed Princess Sally, then Major Bolov had just made the biggest catch of his career!

            Sonic was more miserable than ever. He was starved and thirsted, and there was nothing even remotely resembling a chilidog in sight. Nothing but stunted trees and dying grass. Oh, yes, and the sun.

            He walked along. He had preferred running earlier, but it was so tiresome on the parched ground, and it was literally "getting nowhere fast". If nowhere had a middle, Sonic was lost in it.

            Not a cloud in the sky, thought Sonic. Nothing but the sun—bigger than Robuttnik, from this angle. So huge and hot and… stop that! You're making it worse! How could I? It's as bad as it could be, isn't it? It's as bad… you're doing it again!

            Sonic bit the dust about then.

            He lay there on the scorching ground for a long time—it was impossible to tell how long. But eventually, as he lay there, several animals gathered around him. After a debate that he could not listen to, they picked him up, put him into a vehicle of some kind, and rendered him unconscious.

            When Sonic awoke, he felt chilled. He shivered and opened his eyes. I'm underground, he thought. There was some light. To try and see better, he sat up.

            "Oh, you're finally up."

            Sonic looked around, and his eyes finally came to rest on a female… he wasn't quite sure—his headache might have had something to do with that—but she was canine. Maybe a little older than he, moderately dressed. She spoke with an easy tone. "I'm Dirla, but everyone calls me just La—that way they can add "tee-ee" and spell "Late"."

            Sonic didn't know why this was amusing, but he laughed for a long time. When he was done, Dirla looked at him strangely. "I didn't think it was that funny," she said.

            "It wasn't."

            "Then why did you laugh so hard?"

            He pointed. "'Cause up there, Mobius tried to kill me, and down here, you're running late." He shook his head. "I sure am glad you weren't late that time."

            She shrugged. "That wasn't me. I certainly wouldn't have beaned you before taking you down here. But there are good security reasons and rules are rules, and like I said, I wasn't there."

            "Whaddya mean "down here"? How can anyone hide from Robotnik when the land's flat as a pancake? Are we underground?"

            "Yes." She smiled. She loved explaining things to animals. "Up there is the most treacherous desert on Mobius. Animals don't think it is because of the small trees and grasses, but the desert tricks outsiders like that. It only rains during two or three months out of the year. All the rest of the time is dry."

            "And I arrived here during the dry time, right?"

            "No, actually, the rains are going to begin rather soon. Anyway, the trees and grasses survive off of water deep below the surface in aquifers. There was an ongoing project to study all the interactions of the aquifers and the plants underway when the coup hit. Well, when the Swatbots arrived, a few of us survived and made it to the research station. It was desperate at first—but eventually, we expanded the station and carved out a home. We had to be very careful when building it all, but like I said, we managed."

            Sonic didn't see how anyone could, but he let it ride. He thought back for a while. "Just where on the continent are we? Are we even on the continent?"

            "Well, yes, of course. We're in the southeast. Eventually this pseudo-desert gives way to true desert further east."

            Sonic felt he was missing something, but couldn't quite put his paw on it. He shrugged it off. "What do you do to mess with ol' Robuttnik's base?"

            Dirla looked surprised. "'Mess with' what?"

            "Y'know, blowin' things up, trashin' bots, that sort of thing."

            She looked down. "Actually, I don't know. I don't do that sort of thing. I guess we interfere somehow, because some of the animals go out every now and then, but I'm really not sure."

            Sonic was frustrated, so he decided to shift his tactics. "So, can you take me to the head honcho?"

            "Who?"

            "The boss around here. The guy in charge."

            "Oh, sure. Follow me."

            They walked through the tunnels. "How did you hide the dirt?"

            "Huh?"

            "The dirt from all these tunnels. You gotta put it somewhere, right? How'd you hide it from the Swatbots?"

            Another hesitation. "I don't know. I didn't do that."

            Sonic sighed in exasperation. "What DO you do around here?"

            "Not much."

            Sonic didn't understand. At Knothole, everybody worked on something, be it the small gardens, or construction, or guard duty, or whatever. The idea of anyone doing nothing at all was foreign to him.

            He let the matter drop when Dirla let him through a door to a larger chamber. The leader of this community was a dog with a disarming smile. "So you're the newcomer. Thank you, Dirla. I'm Hawson. And you are…?" Hawson extended a hand.

            "Sonic, the blue dude with attitude," he answered, taking the offered hand.

            Hawson smiled in a way that made Sonic uncomfortable. "Pleasure to meet you. We don't often get newcomers out here. I apologize about the rude pickup, but it's about security, you see. If Robotnik got a hold of even one entryway into our base, we'd all be goners."

            "Trust me, I understand you on that point."

            "So how did you get out here?"

            "Well, Sal and I were raidin' Robotropolis…"

            "Wait, Robotropolis?"

            "Yep. I hate what Robuttnik's done to that place!"

            "I didn't know that anyone escaped from there."

            "Well, we did, and we've met even more."

            "But that's so far away!"

            "If you'll let me talk, I got here by mistake. Like I said, Sal and I were raidin' Robotropolis. We took a wrong turn inside a port, hid in different boxes, and the next thing I know, I'm on my way to that city back there."

            "Just you?"

            "Just me."

            "Then how on Mobius did you do so much damage to the city all by yourself?"

            Sonic bristled up a little. "Hey, maybe you haven't heard of me, but I'm the fastest thing alive. I can take on anything Robuttnik has. The only reason I decided to bug out is 'cause I thought I'd get tired."

            Hawson whispered a little to the animal closest him. Then he turned back to Sonic. "Well, glad to have you here, Sonic! How long do you plan on staying?"

            Sonic cooled down. "As long as it takes. I need to find out what was so special about that cargo that Robuttnik made 'em impossible to scan."

            "That's surprising information."

            "Do you guys know anything about "kite reller"?"

            "What is that supposed to mean?"

            "That's what I wanna know! It was printed on the labels of those boxes."

            "The same ones you came in on."

            "Right."

            Hawson shook his head. "It doesn't mean anything to me. We'll look into it, though."

            "Thanks a bunch, Hawson. So, when are we gonna go scope it out?"

            "Scope what out?"

            "Robotnik's base! I don't wanna spend the rest of my life down here."

            "Don't worry, Sonic, we'll deal with Robotnik soon enough. In the meantime, we'll settle you down. Dirla, do we have a place where Sonic can stay while he's here?"

            "He can sleep in my quarters," she answered sincerely.

            Sonic took a step back in surprise, but Hawson was unfazed. "Nice try, little lady, but think again. Do we have any guest quarters available?"

            She looked disappointed, but answered, "Well, yes, I guess so. Come with me, Sonic."

            Over his shoulder, Sonic said to Hawson. "After I smoke this cargo and go home, I'll see what I can do about linking up with you more in the future."

            "That sounds fine, Sonic."

            "So, you're the lucky one who gets to release her?" asked Felam.

            "Sure enough," answered Bruder. "After all, her last real memory was you injecting her with narcotics, so the Colonel thought it better to have me talk to her first."

            "True, true. Remember, I'll be here in case she gets violent."

            Bruder scoffed. "You think I can't handle her by myself? I tie you in knots, so what good would your help be if she can beat me?"

            "Well, I will be armed. It's a 'just in case' thing, don't skin me over it."

            They arrived at the interrogation chamber. "Alright. See you soon." Bruder opened the door and walked in.

            The girl was—wait, might as well call her by her name, thought Bruder. Sally was still tied up in her chair. They'd removed the neck brace, but all the other restraints were still in place. One by one, Bruder set about removing them. This was enough to wake Sally.

            "Who are you?"

            Bruder used her softest voice. "I'm Corporal Bruder. I'm part of the unit that captured you in Center City."

            "So you're part of the unit that raped me?"

            Bruder was stunned and completely stopped. "Who said anything about rape?"

            "Interrogation, rape, it's all the same really."

            Bruder shook her head and continued working. "Listen, call it what you will. I follow orders, and after all this time, interrogation never seems that harsh."

            "Of course not. You're the one doing it, not the one who has to live with it."

            Bruder stared Sally in the eyes, but the girl's stare was too strong, and the doe dropped her gaze. "Major Bolov thought it necessary. We live in dangerous times, and it pays to be suspicious. There would have been doubt as to what you might have told us, and narco-interrogation was the only way to be sure of our information. In fact, it's safer this way because you won't have to deal with imprisonment and malnutrition and other ways of getting information." She paused. "You aren't the first animal Felam and I have interrogated, and you probably won't be the last. We do our job."

            The last of the restraints was off. Bruder stood. "Our Colonel ordered you released and wants you returned to health. You don't have any wounds, except for small rope burns, so we're going to get you a meal. Follow me, please."

            "What if I don't?"

            Bruder turned back to Sally. The girl was gingerly testing her joints and limbs. "Then you'll probably starve. If it's all the same to you, I'd rather not have that happen."

            Sally stood up and looked to her boot. "Where's Nicole?"

            "Was that someone with you?"

            Sally slapped at her boot. "Nicole is my computer."

            "Oh. 'Nicole' is down in the lab under analysis."

            "Tell them to stop!"

            "Why?"

            "Nicole is programmed to self-destruct if her casing is breached by anyone except for me and Rotor!"

            Bruder hesitated for a second, then reached for her communicator. "Bruder to lab," she said.

            "Lab here," a voice answered.

            "The girl says the computer is programmed to destroy itself if you open its casing."

            Sally stood on her toes, tense and worried. Quite a challenge when wearing boots, Bruder thought with a grin.

            The voice returned. "Don't worry, we don't really need to. We can determine most things about it without resorting to that."

            "Alright, then, FYI. Out." Bruder looked at Sally, who now relaxed. "Important to you?"

            Sally looked at her strangely. Bruder realized that Sally simply thought differently, adhered to different teachings and ways, than she did. "Yes," Sally said at last. "Very important."

            Bruder shrugged. "We've handled that, so like I said, please follow me."

            Sally hesitated, but then moved to comply.

            Felam joined them outside the room. Sally knew his face. "So the two of you are going to be my escorts?" she asked.

            "Well, Major Bolov didn't exactly want you left alone, and he reasoned that we knew you better than anyone else, so we might as well be assigned to you."

            "Knew me better… I'll bet!"

            The depth of Sally's resentment amazed Bruder again. She didn't understand. Where she came from, narco-interrogation was accepted as evidence in criminal procedures. While no one liked to be interrogated, in general, the public had decided to accept it—as opposed to the alternative, relying on each animal's word, always a poor procedure. The use of narco-interrogation was limited to more serious allegations only, because of certain hazards and the nature of the procedure: the prying open of one's mind. But Bruder—or Bolov, for that matter—didn't attach the same value to the sanctity of privacy as did Sally.

            "This way," Bruder said, just to break the silence.

            "Are there narcotics in the food, too?" Sally bit out.

            Felam jumped in. "No, actually. Since we've had to hole up here, we haven't been able to replenish our store of narcotics. On occasion yes, but by and large, no. So we can't waste them putting them in the food. Besides, they're much more effective if put directly into the bloodstream. That's why we generally go for the carotid artery on the side of your neck…" he tapped Sally's neck to be sure she understood.

            Bruder knew that Felam's interference was a bad thing, and had rolled her eyes as soon as he'd started talking. But she never imagined that he'd be so stupid as to actually touch her.

            Sally grabbed Felam's hand and, in a flash, slammed him to the ground. She had her shin pressed over his throat in another instant.

            "I should kill you for what you did to me!" Sally screamed from between clenched teeth.

            Bruder's blaster was already trained on Sally. "If you move in any direction but up, girl, it will be the last move you make," she said.

            For several long seconds it seemed like Sally was going to go ahead and crush his windpipe. She held motionless over his body, and he refused to move, lest he set her off in some way. Finally, after a short eternity, Sally slowly rose. Felam slithered out of her range before standing and dusting himself off.

            "Wow, you're pretty good at that. I bet you could beat Bruder there…"

            "Shut up, Felam," Bruder said, waving her blaster at him. "Now, Sally, most animals wouldn't have hesitated as I did. Once they saw that a comrade was in danger, they would have fired immediately. You would be lying dead on this floor right now. Why I didn't stretch you out is a mystery to me. But consider that your warning. Next time, you're a casualty. Can I count on you to restrain yourself?"

            Sally breathed in and out slowly. Bruder could almost see the calm return to her. When she'd stopped shaking, she replied, "Yes. Provided he doesn't touch me, yes, I can restrain myself."

            "Good." Bruder replaced her blaster. "Now, they're expecting us in the mess hall, and we're a little late. If you'll come this way…"

            "Hey."

            Sonic slowly woke. The shoe that hit him sped the process up a little.

            "Oww! Whadja do that for?"

            "You were slow!" It was Dirla, laughing. Sonic made a face at the thought of anyone calling him "slow". Dirla just laughed more. "C'mon, it's breakfast."

            "Hey, the hedgehog has to do what the hedgehog has to do. Chill a minute, I'll be there in a Sonic Second."

            "Do you remember the way?"

            "It's cool. See you there."

            "Right." She left the room with a big smile.

            As Sonic put on shoes and socks and looked around for the 'facilities', he distinctly remembered having locked his door.

            Breakfast for Sonic was well-made and filling. Still, he longed for a chilidog, but doubted they would make them right. Well, he'd inspect the kitchen after everyone else was done.

            He knew that, as the newcomer, he was the object of a few of the conversations going on around him. But, to be truthful, he didn't care. He'd show them what he could do; his actions would speak for themselves. In fact, he even relished the idea of the animals building up his reputation—the higher they built, the more he could blow away when it came time for him to perform.

            Dirla wiped at his mouth. "Boy you're a sloppy eater," she clucked.

            "Hey, that's MY mouth!" he said, batting her away. Suddenly, it was a game, her reaching for him, him batting her off.

            "Ahem!" Hawson walked up.

            Sonic turned away, and Dirla gave him a big wipe across the face. He retaliated, pushing her off the bench and turning to talk. "Yo, Hawson."

            "You seem to be feeling better. Dirla, mind your manners!"

            "Yes, sir," she responded, only slightly abashed.

            "Now, Sonic, I'd like a word with you."

            "Hey, I've been ready. See ya, Dirla."

            Dirla gave him a smile and walked out. Sonic spoke again. "So, what's up?"

            "We want a demonstration of just what you can do. You see, all of this," he pointed around, "is underground, so we have to rely on powerful air circulation machines. The problem is, they're very power-intensive. We have to keep getting new energy sources."

            "And you get 'em from the city?"

            "Yes. We have to use the… well…" he looked up. "It's a little drastic, but we salvage power sources from Swatbots and their blasters."

            Sonic was shocked. "Doncha have ANY other way?"

            "Well, yes, actually. Because there are so few clouds, we usually rely on solar power. It's quite a trick to conceal the panels from hover unit patrols, but we'd rather have a little trouble than die. But we can't use solar power during the rainy season…"

            "And that's comin' up. So I've heard."

            "That's right. We need some additional power sources to last us through."

            "But that isn't drastic… that's just plain crazy!"

            "Yes, I know, and we've lost a lot of good animals along the way. But like I said, it's better than death."

            Sonic supposed it was. And if he could make it so someone wouldn't die, he would! "So what's the game plan?"

            "You're going to help us?"

            "You bet your bot. Any time I can, Hawson, I'm ready to kick some Swatbot tail."

            "All right then. Come with me, and I'll introduce you to some of the folks here…"

            Breakfast at Sally's location was a tense affair. The mess hall was simple, utilitarian, and deserted except for her escorts. It was also very, Sally thought needlessly, cold. All of the facility was. Sally supposed that she should have expected that, given how far north she'd come. The food was edible, but that was all that could be said for it. And yet, even though she smoldered with resentment, she devoured her breakfast in minutes.

            "You eat like a sinkhole!" commented Bruder.

            Sally stopped for a moment. "You would too. What day is today?" Bruder told her. "Well, then it's been a day and a half that I haven't eaten. Yes, I'm a little hungry." Bruder just shrugged.

            Felam commented, "Y'know, I've been thinking… maybe I could try out some of my dad's recipes in the kitchen sometime." 

            Bruder slurped something. "Yeah, right. That's not gonna happen, for very many quite correct reasons!"

            "Yeah, yeah, I know, I know. Limited ingredients, limited facilities, and so on. Still, wouldn't it be nice to just have good food once in a while?"

            "You don't seem to have any trouble eating it now."

            "Well, yeah, of course, because that's all there is. But what if…" A beep interrupted him before he could drive Bruder to violence. Felam abruptly stopped talking and grabbed his communicator. "Felam."

            It was a deep voice Sally didn't recognize. "Corporal, once the girl has eaten, I'd like to see her."

            "Yes, sir." Another beep turned the communicator off.

            "Who was that?" asked Sally.

            "Major Bolov, second-in-command around here."

            Sally noticed both her escorts had slowed their eating. "Are you two done?"

            "I lost my appetite," said Bruder.

            "Me too," echoed Felam.

            Sally realized for a second that she was about to sound like Sonic. "In that case… are you going to eat that?"

            "So, let me go over this one more time, to be sure I've got it down."

            "Go ahead, Sonic."

            "Okay, we'll hit a perimeter patrol. Then a team and I are gonna cover the techies while they grab the bots. We'll distract the Swatbutts if things get un-cool. Then everyone piles into the hovercraft and heads home. Is that all?"

            "That's all. Nice and simple."

            "C'mon, is that all you do?"

            The animal shrugged. "Well, we never get a chance to penetrate deeper in. This is, actually, one of our more ambitious plans."

            "You're kidding, right?"

            "Not really."

            "That's not cool."

            Another shrug. "Everything in our planning has to have us getting back to our hovercraft with time to spare. We can't cut corners or take risks with that."

            Hawson approached. "Does he have it down?"

            "Does he have it? He's trying to improve it!"

            "Hey, Hawson."

            "Hello, Sonic. We're approaching the city now, so if I were you, I'd start getting ready."

            "Hey, I've been ready. And it's awesome that you guys have got this hover unit!"

            "We've got several more that are close to being repaired. Soon we'll have a veritable fleet of them!" Hawson turned his attention to everyone else in the cramped crew compartment. "Everyone!" Hawson shouted to the ten animals onboard. "We're approaching the target area now. Grab a blaster and get ready!" On cue, someone opened a weapons locker and started handing out blasters. Someone shoved a blaster at Sonic.

            Sonic looked at the blaster like a rotten carrot. "I don't need no stinkin' blaster!"

            "Sonic?"

            "I'm not takin' it!"

            The animal looked up at Hawson, as if not sure what to do. Hawson stepped in. "Sonic, I haven't seen your abilities in action. However, I can't help but think that even your skills could be improved with a weapon. Take the blaster."

            Sonic bristled again. "No way. I AM a weapon! That thing can only slow me down."

            Hawson hesitated, then hung the weapon back up. "Suit yourself."

            The pilot shouted back. "Almost there!"

            "Here we go…"

            The stark metal-and-white-light walls were beginning to take their toll on Sally. "Where ARE we, anyway?"

            Bruder stopped Felam from answering, then said, "Maybe we'll tell you after your interview with Major Bolov."

            "Neither of you has spoken much since we headed to his office." Neither escort commented on that. "Why?"

            Bruder was long in answering. "Bolov believes very strongly in his opinions. He's an excellent soldier. But he's uncompromising. I won't say more."

            "I'd almost think you animals were some sort of army! Do you fear Bolov?"

            Another long pause. "No," said Bruder with some difficulty. "Not really. I certainly respect him." They turned a corner. "There," she said, pointing to a door.

            Sally went in that direction.

            "Good luck," said Bruder.

            "Good-bye," said Felam.

            Sonic and three animals left the shot-up patrol behind. They went to the closest intersection and set up behind cover.

            Sure enough, a troop of Swatbots came walking down the street, headed towards the former patrol's route. One of the animals whispered, "Too many!"

            "Not for me!" said Sonic. Without waiting for any discussion, Sonic tore down towards the bots. They were caught off-guard. Sonic blew right through the middle of them like a blue bowling ball. The other animals finished off the bots.

            Sonic sprang up and pumped his fist triumphantly. He was back in business and feeling good. "That's the hedgehog in action! Hey, guys, take a few of these back to the techies. I'll handle the decoy from here."

            The others were all too eager to get back to safety and grabbed at Swatbot bodies. Sonic whizzed down alleys and streets, attracting as much attention as possible.

            It wasn't difficult to attract attention. Losing it all was a little harder, but once he did he simply went back to the getaway hovercraft.

            They were taking off when Sonic arrived. The hovercraft settled back to ground so Sonic could climb in. Sonic gave a good shake. "Thought for a second that you were gonna leave without me! Well, that was fun. How'd we do?"

            "Excellent," said Hawson. "We got more Swatbots to salvage than we ever have."

            "Great. Hey, does this thing go any faster?"

            The pilot shouted back at them. "There's too much weight! We're going too slow—oh no, Swatbots right behind us!"

            "WHAT?" shouted Hawson.

            "Yeah, closing fast!"

            "I'll handle it," said Sonic. He went for the door.

            "Wait, Sonic, we'll throw someone else out—"

            Sonic wasn't really listening. "You guys juice. I'll catch up once I've handled the hover crates. See ya soon!"

            Luckily, the hover unit was flying low and slow; Sonic made the jump with no trouble at all. After landing, Sonic just waited. The hover units once more didn't notice him. However, as soon as they were close, Sonic began his old Sonic Tornado move. He spun around in place at insane speed, whipping and churning the air around him. Soon it was a veritable whirlwind. But this time, it had an additional trick. The winds picked up sand from the ground and accelerated it. Even grains of sand at that speed could wreck a hover unit.

            The hover units didn't see it coming and couldn't react quickly enough once they did see it. They flew right into the Sonic Tornado's wind and sand.

            The end result was that Sonic turned five hover units into scrap metal in seconds.

            True to his word, Sonic then went after and caught the getaway hovercraft.

            Everyone on board congratulated and thanked Sonic. Hawson called him "the finest animal I've ever known". But something didn't seem right to Sonic. Something, other than the Swatbots not anticipating Sonic's abilities the way they almost did in Robotropolis.

            He thought about it, but couldn't grasp it. He ate a small dinner, virtually ignored Dirla, and went straight to bed, still thinking about it. Something just didn't seem right.

            That was too weird, he thought. Even then he couldn't get to sleep. Lying in bed, he replayed the whole mission in his mind.

            Sally entered Bolov's quarters and was struck by the room's appearance. The walls were, as everywhere, white-lights-and-metal, but here they hung with blades and weapons. There were dress uniforms, a plaque of what she thought were medals… This animal, thought Sally, was definitely in the Great War. She was impressed. Her eyes fell on a large chair turned away from her.

            A voice came from the other side. "Welcome. I wanted to talk with you."

            Sally put herself on guard. She knew only that the other animals "respected" Bolov—and that could mean anything. And, after all, he was the one who'd ordered her interrogation. "Hello. I'm afraid I don't speak well to chairs."

            There was a pause. "I find it acceptable. There are many things you can tell from a voice… if only I were as good at it as before." Another pause. "So, what is your name?"

            "Sally."

            "Your full name, titles and all?"

            "Princess Sally Acorn."

            "How did you come to be here? How did you meet us in Center City?"

            Bad luck, she thought. She lost a measure of her control. "Listen, if you listened to the recordings of your lackeys' raping my mind, you would know all of this."

            "I know what you said under drugs. I'd like to hear it from your mouth."

            "Why?"

            A sigh. "Partly because I wanted to help convince myself how awful you are."

            Even on-guard, Sally was caught off-balance by this comment. "Awful?"

            "I've lived for years hating you and all that you stood for."

            Sally did not understand. "What have I done that could possibly make you hate me so?"

            Bolov turned his chair around. Sally could do nothing but gasp. It was the bear she'd seen earlier, but he wasn't wearing his shirt. Sally could see him fully. His chest was riddled with scars, scars that must have reflected in his soul. His face had a long scar running through one eye, and one of his ears was missing. He made a horrid picture, monstrous and gross, and at the same time, he was obviously so strong that he could crush Sally with little effort. She stood transfixed as he rose out of his chair.

            "You ask what you have done? Your father initiated a war. Your Warlord blasted Center City into oblivion. Your bombs destroyed everything that I was. Your soldiers murdered thousands and assassinated our entire government. And you ask what you have done!"

            Sally gulped. "The war was horrible… but it's been over for…"

            "The war is NOT over!" shouted Bolov, slamming his powerful arm on his desk. "You declared victory when the Cabal was smashed but you have NOT destroyed us all yet! The war is still raging on the record and in my heart. We, here, in this facility, are all that are left… a group of civilians, and the remnants of Cabal Reserve Force 2, attached to city defense unit 001!"

            Sonic was almost off to sleep when he realized what had bothered him. When he was about to jump out of the hovercraft, Hawson had shouted, "We'll throw someone else out instead!"

            SOMEONE ELSE?

            A living creature, thrown to the pursuing Swatbots in the middle of the desert when simply dumping a Swatbot carcass would have worked?

            Sonic gulped repeatedly. He must have heard that incorrectly. Or that wasn't what Hawson meant. Yes, he liked Hawson—Hawson didn't seem like he would do that… not one bit!

            Would he?

            Sonic did fall asleep, but he didn't get much rest.

Chapter Two: Things get more complicated

            Sally feared for her life. Bolov was practically frothing at the mouth. She was out of her chair and backing into the door.

            Bolov slowly lost enough anger that he could sit down. "If it were up to me alone," he said, "I would have you formally executed, immediately. However, our colonel does not wish that so. He's taking a far more benevolent stance. Privately, I might say it's revolting, but certainly I would not say such things in front of you." His "you" carried the force of a crashing freighter. Sally continued to breathe quickly.

            "He's going to conduct a private inquiry into the matter. I don't necessarily know what that will entail. In the meantime, he'd like for your escorts to treat you well and show you around. In time, you will appear personally before the colonel. Again, if it were up to me, I'd lock you up before your execution, but he sees value in showing you our facility. I defer to his judgement. In any event, you may excuse yourself now."

            Sally took the hint. She reached for the door.

            Bruder was almost surprised when she saw Sally exit Bolov's quarters. She stood straight again. "So, how'd it go?"

            "You respect him?" Sally spat.

            "You don't?"

            "I don't understand why he'd blame me for what happened during the war!" she said.

            "We'd better head this way," said Felam. "Just in case… you know."

            "Well enough, by now," Sally responded. "He's a monster."

            Bruder stopped moving. "Now hold on," she said. "Let's get one thing straight. Every one of us—you surely know we're what's left of an army unit—every one of us has stayed alive under him. He cares for all of us. What's more, there are two hundred animals in the settlement close by—two hundred animals that would all be dead or Roboticised if it were not for Major Bolov. Call him monster—some nerve! He's a noble creature in some ways. In others, he's just as pathetic as anybody else. But NEVER suggest that he's worth less than your utmost respect!"

            Sally visibly recoiled. A swirl of emotions crossed her face. Bruder understood the conflict between Sally's hate and disgust for Bolov and her wanting to accept what Bruder had just told her. Yes, Bruder decided, she's a princess—good leaders are suckers for the saving of lives, and if her interrogation was correct, Sally was a good leader.

            Sally buried her face in her paw. "I'm so confused! What IS this place?"

            Bruder thought for a moment. Well, she made it out alive, she thought, so it must be okay to show her around. As long as we stay close by her, it should work out.

            "I'll show you," Bruder said gently.

            Sonic's second breakfast in the desert was more troubled than his first. He pored over his memory, trying to decide what to make of the previous day's experience.

            "Hey, what's wrong?" asked Dirla.

            This girl is persistent, though Sonic. "Just something I thought I heard last night, that's all. I've just gotta think about a few things."

            Dirla shook her head. "That's so boring." It was shocking to Sonic, but those were the words he'd be using normally. Then again, this situation wasn't normal. "Of course, this place is boring, too. There's not much we do here. I just sit around and do art and write and do nothing the rest of the day. There's not many animals here my age, and I wouldn't be caught dead with the ones who are here. Hey, want to see some of my art?"

            Sonic considered. It might take his mind off of his worries, and he didn't feel like refusing Dirla. "All right, show me the way."

            At last, Sally was outside of the buildings that reminded her so much of Robotropolis with lights. But she wasn't really outside.

            As she gazed at her surroundings, she gasped. For this was a large complex of buildings deep in the heart of a mountain!

            In the corner of her eye, Sally saw Bruder puff up a little with pride. "The Cabal built numerous settlements like this one, in case the worst might happen," she explained. "We never imagined that the worst would happen, but the Cabal's mentality was, it pays to be prepared."

            Sally shook her head. This was incredible! For the same amount of materials and costs, the Kingdom would have built something different—a museum with an attached park and a few low-rent homes, maybe, or even more. Who knew how many resources had been consumed making this place; including the entire cavern above their heads, it seemed as big as the Robotropolis HQ! But, she reflected, that was because the Kingdom always lived for the glory of the present. Sally supposed that the Cabal thought of the present as something to be survived to get to the future.

            "So this place has kept you alive all this time…"

            "For eleven years, yes. We've only gone out to hit Robotnik's base and to look around."

            "For what?"

            Bruder shrugged. "Other settlements, useful salvage, anything. We've even marked the locations of free-growing food plants, like berry bushes and that sort of thing. It's risky to go and get them, but anything to break up your day."

            "And your diet!" laughed Felam.

            Sally could only shake her head again. "And I thought I had it rough! Knothole's so well protected by the forest that we grow most of our food."

            "Oh, we do, too."

            "What? Inside a mountain?"

            "Oh, yes. Our country has so little usable land that we early on learned to get as much out of it as we could. Now… let me just show you."

            Sally nodded eagerly. This place was amazing! Her mind worked quickly, checking all the things a settlement like this would need. Renewable, or at least long-lasting, power sources… food supply, they said that was taken care of… good air circulation… and all of it concealed well enough to hide from Robotnik.

            Robotnik… Sally's mind lingered. She'd have to get around to figuring what he was up to… but the Caballers had Nicole, and they were railroading Sally quite a bit. At the first opportunity, then.

            "Dirla, this is just a drag."

            "I know, it's not very good, but I try so hard…"

            "That's not what I mean." Sonic was sick of looking at paintings and sculpture. He knew that people cared about art, but he could not concentrate on it any longer. He was through with just being polite.

            "What am I doing here? I'm supposed to be here to stop whatever Robuttnik's up to. And I'm not doing anything at all!"

            Dirla's reaction was hard to interpret. She just stood back, mouth open, shocked. "Don't talk about that!" she said finally.

            "Why not? That's why I'm here!"

            "That's why I'm here, too, and I hate it!" she raged. "It's because of him that I was forced to move here-- this dark, smelly, hateful place! Ughhh!" She ended her tizzy by knocking over one of her display stands, painting and all. As soon as she realized this, her mood swung back and she rushed into Sonic's arms to cry on his shoulder. Sonic was surprised, to say the least, but he looked past her to see the painting.

            It was a landscape, of the open and free desert above. While many of the other paintings seemed dreamy, most of her paintings were open landscapes.

            It occurred to Sonic, then, that Dirla never adjusted to running from Robotnik. She wanted out so badly—no one had helped her to cope with living underground. All she could think of was the day she would re-emerge.

            Sonic felt a sudden surge of pity for the poor girl crying on his shoulder. Why had no one helped her? "That's all right," he said, holding her close. "It's okay."  
            Why?

            The ingenuity these animals display, thought Sally, would make Rotor feel pitiful!

            She'd seen much of the Cabal complex. So much maintenance was required to keep it running, but it was pretty much self-sufficient.

            By now, Sally had realized that there were two distinct segments to the complex. They'd told her that all the civilians stayed in the larger complex, and that the smaller was the preserve of the military. They were headed back towards the military complex.

            "Just how many of you are there?" she asked.

            Bruder turned her head. "Civilians or soldiers?"

            "Soldiers."

            "Fourteen."

            "And only you fourteen ever go out?"

            "That's right. We know our place, the civilians know theirs." She looked straight again.

            Enough learning, thought Sally. It's time to start sharing or there will never be any trust. "It's not really like that in Knothole."

            "Knothole?"

            "My home."

            "Oh."

            "Only a few really go on raids, but everyone helps out and everyone is in the guard lottery."

            "What do you mean by 'guard lottery'?"

            "It has to do with who stands watch at what places."

            Bruder stopped suddenly. "Everyone is in this 'lottery'?"

            "Why, yes."

            Bruder didn't seem to understand. "You would trust the security of your home to just anyone?"

            Sally felt herself growing defensive, checked it. No antagonism, she thought. "Not just anyone; my old nanny Rosie doesn't stand guard, for example. But anyone with able body and able mind."

            Bruder shook her head. "I don't see how you could trust such animals to do it right. There's no way I would trust my life to any of the civvies back there," she said with a silent sneer.

            Her intolerance was shocking to Sally. "What makes you so special compared to them?"

            "Not just anyone can make a soldier. The standards have to be set high so that any faith you put in a soldier is justified," Bruder said, getting louder and gesturing. "I wouldn't trust the civilians with anything military-related—yet I trust them to grow my food, regulate the air supply that keeps me breathing, and so on. On the other paw, I might not trust Felam to do those things—but in a fight, I have to know that he'll die before he'll let me die. I've lost two hundred and thirty-six comrades—and any one of us still living would swap lives for any one of those dead. You HAVE to have that much faith in a soldier! Or he will let you down!"

            Bruder mopped at her eyes. "I'm sorry," she said. "But… I've lost so many friends in my life. To any number of causes. But I've got to keep on living, or their deaths have no purpose. And I've got to keep on protecting those civilians. When I die, I at least hope that that will be the purpose of my death."

            Bruder shook her head. "I'm really tired. My duty cycle's over. Come with me, it's time to sleep."

            Sally hesitated, but Felam had long since left, and she didn't want to be left alone in this place. And that went double with the possibility of running into Bolov alone. Sally set off after the corporal, though she almost had to run to keep pace.

            Sonic was distracted the whole time Hawson was trying to plan a new raid. Something about this place didn't feel right at all. First Hawson's line back at the last raid, then Dirla snapping over Robotnik… He lingered, thinking about Dirla. He wanted to help her out, somehow.

            When he found her, though, her mood had swung yet again, and she was as cheerful as ever.

            Sally was uncomfortable in the barracks. Though only a few souls were in the room, even that many made Sally extremely self-conscious. This is so different from Knothole, she thought. There's so much more privacy…

            Knothole… Robotnik…

            "Bruder, are you still awake?"

            "A little."

            "Do the words 'kite reller' mean anything to you?"

            "Ask me some other time."

            "Bruder?" Pause. "Bruder?"

            But she was fast asleep.

            Sonic tried to chase Dirla down a tunnel. Tried, that is, because he had to go slow. The tunnel was too narrow for him to pass her safely. Good thing, he thought, that animals don't go through here a lot. Matter of fact, the tunnels are deserted most of the time.

            Strange. Knothole was a quiet place, but everything was busier than this…

            Sonic absent-mindedly bounced off of a doorknob. Dirla laughed ahead of him. "Catch me and I'll give your shoe back!"

            "Dirla…" Sonic trailed off and backed up. It was a door he didn't remember seeing before.

            Dirla returned. "What is it? Don't tell me you gave up?"

            Sonic pointed. "What's down there?"

            Dirla's face fell. "I never go down there. I'm not allowed," she said.

            Sonic glanced around. "I'm gonna check it out. Chill a sec, okay?"

            "No, Sonic, wait! Hawson will be really mad!"

            "Too late!" Sonic was through the door, down the hall.

            The corridor sloped down, ever down. Sonic saw a glow ahead.

            "What is it now, Hawson?" a tired voice called.

            Sonic turned the corner and looked around. It looked like a lab of some sort, poorly stocked, but a lab nonetheless. He saw someone sitting in front of a computer screen. "I'm not Hawson, but I'm cool with that. After all, Hawson's nowhere near the coolness of the hedgehog!"

            The computer user turned in surprise. "Oh my! Who are you?"

            "The fastest thing alive, the one and only Sonic Hedgehog! Don't tell me you've never heard of me."

            The animal shrugged. "Sorry, but I have to. It's been years since I've had a visitor other than Hawson. He isn't the best of company." He extended a paw. "Just call me James."

            "That's cool, James. Like I said, I'm…"

            "Sonic, right. I got that."

            "So, what do you do down here?"

            "I just study the aquifer system. I work here, and I live there," he said, pointing at a door. "My room's in there. I've been here for… well, close to twenty years, now. I've done better recently, because I don't have to worry about bureaucrats, but I miss my team."

            "Team?"

            "Yes. I was the only one of my research team that stayed here after the end of the Great War. Everyone else went up to Mobotropolis for the victory celebration."

            Sonic winced. "Mondo bad timing on that one."

            James nodded. "I agree."

            "So, why would Hawson place this hall off limits? I wasn't sure what I'd find, but I didn't expect to just find a techie and a lab. What's the deal?"

            James swallowed, then shrugged. "No idea."

            Sonic sighed. "One last question: do the words 'kite reller' mean anything to you?"

            "Nothing at all. I'll look into it, though."

            "Thanks, James. Quiz time's over, I've gotta juice. See ya!"

            "Oh, Sonic?"

            "Yeah?"

            "You're missing a shoe."

            "I know, I know…"

            The alarm under Bruder's pillow went off, causing the doe to stir. She got up, waking Sally as she did. Sally was difficult, though; Bruder guessed she was used to waking up naturally with the sun. In Bruder's world, though, that wasn't allowed, and there was no sun, so she had to wake Sally up. After a few minutes to refresh herself, she prepared to finish orienting Sally to the Cabal complex.

            "Here," she said, tossing Sally a black shirt and pants. Sally looked at them strangely, so Bruder suggested, "You've talked about how cold it is. This is far to the North from you, after all. They might make it more comfortable."

            Sally thanked her and donned the clothes. They didn't fit quite right, thought Bruder, but I do cut a big silhouette. She motioned for Sally to follow her.

            Bruder's tour for Sally ended with the lab and the security station. At the lab, Sally picked up Nicole and was delighted to see that she was in good order. The visit to security station was more interesting.

            "Here," Bruder said. "Agnew's on duty right now." They went in.

            Luckily, thought Bruder, Agnew likes visitors. The security station is a lonely place to spend most of your duty hours.

            Agnew spun around. "Hello, pleased to meet you. You must be the famous princess." Bruder accepted that Sally's presence and interrogation were common knowledge now. She wondered about how Sally was accepting that.

            "That I am. This is where you handle surveillance and everything?"

            "Surveillance, defenses, and ventilation. It's all here."

            "Ventilation?"

            "Yes. Hover units have infrared sensors. We can't risk having the enemy see the outer vents of the system. The air that comes out of the mountain is usually warmer than the outside air, because animals have breathed it in. Even though this part of the mountain is covered with forest, heat sensors might be able to find those vents from the hot air that comes out. We have to control the ventilation system to ensure that that doesn't happen."

            "Will you let me see?"

            Agnew gave an almost imperceptible glance at Bruder. Bruder returned an almost imperceptible nod. Agnew said to Sally, "No problem. See? Here are the controls for the two main lines."

            "Only two? Isn't that dangerous? I mean, if you have to shut down one vent to hide it, can the other vent keep up?"

            Agnew's face darkened. "Yes, for a while anyway. Nothing can hold out forever, of course, and if the enemies stay long enough, everyone in this mountain will suffocate." He smiled darkly. "Not the answer you were looking for, is it?"

            Agnew couldn't recognize it, but Bruder saw the gears turning in Sally's mind. "Okay, out with it," Bruder commanded.

            Sally looked dead at Agnew. "We can fix that."

            "Fix what?"

            "That problem. And increase security at the same time."

            Agnew looked at Bruder in surprise. Bruder shrugged. Agnew pulled up his chair and another for Sally. He smiled broadly. "So, what's your idea?"

            Apparently, Hawson hadn't discovered that Sonic had been to see James, because he was friendly when he found Sonic. "Sonic, I have quite a treat for you! Have you ever seen some real, live barbarians?"

            "Barbarians? Doesn't sound cool. Nah, I haven't seen anything like that."

            "Then you're in for something new here today. We're having a visit from a group that we help out. They'll just be here for a day or two, and then they're back out towards the desert."

            Sonic wasn't that interested—it was just another distraction from his purpose in the desert—but something about the situation felt strange. He decided he had to investigate. "Alright, let's check 'em out."

            "Great! Come this way, we'll see them as they come."

            Major Bolov was reporting to his colonel. "And on a minor note, we had to replace a few lights in the civilian section. We have a box of duds in our stores, and a few of them got installed."

            "Did you dispose of the box so that this wouldn't happen again?"

            "Yes, sir."

            "Is that all?"

            "Yes, sir."

            "Bolov, what is the status of the princess?"

            Bolov's face tightened. He had specifically avoided mentioning the princess. He guessed that the Colonel must have noticed this. The Colonel noticed everything! "Well, sir, Corporal Bruder has completed her tour of the facility; I assigned Corporal Felam back to his normal duty cycle. The princess and Sergeant Agnew…" he hesitated. "They've worked out a plan to improve our ventilation systems."

            "Impressive. Go on."

            "They think it could be done in a few weeks, with the supplies we have here."

            "Still impressive. Is there anything else?"

            "No, sir."

            "Can you give me the gist?"

            Bolov did not want to, but he was obedient. "Well, sir, right now we have two lines of vents. Their proposal is to double the number of vent openings and to install regulators in each of the openings. The openings will be half-closed most of the time, making it more difficult to detect them. If we ever come under observation, one of the lines will shut down, and the regulators on the other side open up. Thus, we maintain close to 100% airflow at all times, while keeping our current security benefits."

            "Very well. It sounds promising. Tell them to submit their proposal to me for review. And you should evaluate possible sites for an attack on the enemy in Center City. Planned for within the week."

            "Yes, sir." Bolov turned to leave, but while he was glad it was over, he hesitated. "Sir?"

            "Yes, Bolov?"

            Bolov hesitated again. "Your "private inquiry"… what exactly will it include?"

            The Colonel didn't respond for several seconds. "That's why it's called a "private" inquiry, Bolov."

            Bolov bowed. "My apologies, sir."

            "Bolov."

            "Yes, sir?"

            "It involves… searching my heart to determine how much hate I feel."

            That answer meant very little to Bolov, but the major knew he wouldn't get anything more. "Good day, sir."

            Agnew gazed in admiration at both Sally and Nicole. "That piece of equipment is extraordinary!" he said. Nicole was displaying a hologram of their plans.

            "She's really something," Sally agreed.

            A beep came over Agnew's communicator. "Agnew," he said.

            "Sergeant, this is Bolov. The Colonel wants to see your plan in writing and submitted to him. Preferably, within the day."

            "Yes, sir. We can do that, no problem."

            "Very well. Out."

            Agnew replaced his communicator. Sally said, "Excuse me, Agnew? Do the words 'kite reller' mean anything to you?"

            Bruder laughed. Agnew looked at her. "What's so funny?"

            "She's asked that of absolutely everyone we've seen!"

            Agnew shook his head. "Seems like nonsense to me. Why do you ask?"

            "It's something Robotnik is working on. I was investigating that when Sonic and I were separated and I came here."

            Agnew shrugged. "Sorry, can't help you. Here, show you what I'll do. I'll have the computer run a search of our databanks for it while we work on the proposal."

            Sally smiled. "That'll be fine, Agnew."

            "I thought so. Now, let's put this in writing…"

            Sonic stood with Hawson and a retinue just inside Hawson's facility. There was a screen showing a camera looking at the desert, but it didn't see anything yet. "When are they gonna be here?"

            Hawson shrugged. "Barbarians are unpredictable. They could be here in an hour, they could be here in three days."

            "Three days? I can't stand waiting that long! Not with Buttnik…"

            "It won't be that long," Hawson interrupted. "Our reconnaissance spotted them. It'll probably be a few hours, tops."

            "Yawn, yawn, double yawn. Gimme a break! I'll go out and find 'em myself!"

            "Wait, Sonic, they don't know you. I can't guarantee what would happen."

            "I'll take my chances."

            "Sonic, no!" said Hawson, locking the hatch out.

            "Look!" someone shouted.

            There were a few tiny dots on the screen. "That's probably them," said Hawson.

            "'Bout time. Are you sure?"

            "It's zoomed in as much as possible."

            Sonic flopped back in a chair. He was starting to really not like this place. Everyone just seemed so… dead. It wasn't Sonic's style.

            It was an eternity before the figures were finally at the hatch. Hawson woke Sonic up. Man, Sonic thought, and I slept fine last night!

            Hawson opened the hatch. "Welcome, friends!"

            One by one, the animals came down. They all looked alike: dusty, dirt brown clothes draped everywhere over the body. Where fur showed, it was very thin and a similar brown color. They were all taller than Sonic except for one. All wore backpacks.

            The tallest of them removed the cover on his face, revealing a feline muzzle. "Hello, Hawson. We meet again. It has been one year and thirteen days."

            "Shall we speak? There is food available for your… friends."

            "This is acceptable." He turned to his followers. "You may eat. Follow Hawson's servant."

            Sonic watched it all silently, unsure of how to react. Here, a group of animals he really didn't know was meeting a group of animals he REALLY didn't know. As the "barbarians" filed out towards the food hall, he tried to get through or around them to get to Hawson and the other leader. But by the time he got to the hall they went down, they weren't in sight. He ran down the hall, looking for them.

            Sonic just couldn't find where they'd gone. He ran past a door, then ran back. He heard something. "…The price is too high." He could tell it was the barbarian leader.

            Sonic considered what to do. He didn't like the feeling of eavesdropping, but some instinct told him to stay outside. He followed the instinct and listened harder, trying to hear.

            "The price is just too high." The leader again.

            There was a haughty laugh. Sonic thought it was Hawson's voice. "You really aren't in a position to dictate price. You NEED our product."

            "You need ours."

            "Not as badly. If we don't buy, then your enemies will eat you alive."

            "No one eats the enemy."

            "No, just your own dead!"

            "If you do not buy, then your people all go through withdrawal. We will see how long you remain leader then!"

            "Maybe, but at least we won't die. You need the blaster packs we give you just to defend your homes. We can use the blaster packs instead of your energy crystals to power our systems, but you can't use those crystals to run your blasters. And your other product is a luxury to us!"

            "So that gives you the right to gouge us as much as you please?"

            "It gives us the right to dictate price."

            "But we do not get enough weapons at this rate. It is insufficient to protect us fully."

            "That's your problem. If you were less violent, it would be more than enough. It's your own fault, but it's not my problem. I am your main source for weaponry, so I have monopoly power over you and your wretched band of worthless scum. I dictate price!"

            Sonic shivered. Hawson was being nothing like he was in public! And what was this "product" they kept talking about?

            The barbarian spoke again, though this time his voice seemed playful. "There is another option. We could slaughter everyone here and take over your facility ourselves."

            Hawson's voice was not playful. "Then you'll have lost your source of blasters for the future. You'll die in time."

            "Perhaps." There was a pause. "Very well. Lower your price some, and it will be acceptable."

            "I will not."

            Another pause. "Very well," he said at last. "We accept your price. We will leave as soon as our transfer is complete."

            Sonic made a hasty retreat.

            Sonic returned to his room to think things out. Hawson was not the animal Sonic thought he was. Things gnawed at him. What, exactly, was the situation between Hawson and the "barbarians"? What was the "product" they kept talking about? Why did it seem that something about this settlement was horribly wrong? And who could he count on to give him straight answers?

            He thought it over. He didn't feel like he could trust Hawson any more. Dirla couldn't give him the answers he was looking for; she just didn't know enough. Most of the animals here were Hawson's sheep… wait, James!

            James wasn't attached to Hawson. He was Sonic's best chance for honest answers. Sonic rocketed down the halls, looking for the door down to James' residence.

            James was asleep when Sonic found him. Sonic woke him. "Yo, James."

            The shaking and the words combined to wake the sleeping animal. "What? Oh, Sonic. Listen, I haven't had my sleep interrupted in almost ten years, I don't intend to change that now!"

            "It's already too late for that. Listen, James, something big is goin' down, and I need you to help me figure it all out."

            "Alright, alright." James grabbed his glasses and sat up. "What is it?"

            "Who are these "barbarians"? How does Hawson know 'em? What's the deal with this place? And what on Mobius is the product that they sell here?"

            "I'm no super-animal, slow down a moment. Okay, let's see. The barbarians are nomads that live out in the real desert. We don't know how they survive. They've rejected any attempts to cooperate with them or study them. Hawson had—still has—a trade with them. Weapons for the energy crystals that power this place, and…" James trailed off. 

            "And what?"

            "I'm sorry, but I won't tell you."

            "James!" Sonic grabbed James by the collar of his pajamas and pulled him up. "Patience is way past thin. I'm in a hurry. What is the trade?"

            James was calm. "You can't make me tell you. I know that much."

            Much as he wanted to smack James, Sonic couldn't bring himself to do it. He released James and turned. "I came to you 'cause I needed straight answers. Thanks a bunch."

            "I'll answer what I can. I just don't respond well to threats."

            "Why can't you tell me?"

            "Dangerous for you."

            "What?"

            "Let me put it this way," James said. "I am an exile down here, have been for years, with only my aquifers for company. It's not entirely out of choice. I would go up there, but I can't. It's because I know. I know what I won't tell you." He put a paw on Sonic's shoulder. "You're a free spirit. You can't be held captive or you'll die. I don't want you to die. So I can't tell you."

            For the first time that Sally could remember, there were more than a few animals in the mess hall. "It's crowded today," she pointed out to Bruder.

            "Must be a shift in duty cycles," Bruder answered.

            "Does this happen often?"

            "Only when the higher-ups want the soldiers to get some extra rest. It also means three-to-two odds that they've got some operation planned."

            The words hit Sally like an anvil. It was the first time ever—aside from Sonic's occasional reckless dash—that she'd been completely cut out of an operation. She reminded herself, as she'd had to keep doing to keep from going mad, that she was the stranger here—she had no standing and no status.

            Frustration welled up in her, forcing her to close her eyes and suppress it once more. While she prided herself on her patience, she felt like she was in a cage, helpless to do anything while Robotnik's plans moved forward. That, at least, had been one of the correct things about Sonic's direct approach: see the threat, deal with the threat. Fast.

            She knew that some danger was coming. She was just helpless to do anything about it. And that's what was making her so angry.

Chapter 3: Boiling Over

            Sonic ran through the complex, looking for the "barbarians". He had to know what all of this was about. He found them in a storage room, but didn't go in immediately. Once more, he was reduced to the role of eavesdropping. He hated that, but there were several of Hawson's flunkies inside, and he didn't want to have to deal with that.

            The problem was, the "barbarians" weren't speaking Mobian Standard! They spoke fast in another language. Sonic looked around the corner again; it looked like they were inspecting blaster power packs. He knew that that was their end of the deal, but what had they paid with?

            One of the voices shouted something, and the others grew more quiet. This voice put Sonic in a trance. He was sure he'd heard it before, but…

            "Watching the barbarians again, Sonic?" The unexpected voice sent Sonic into the air, but he twisted around and landed facing Hawson. "Amusing, aren't they? That chatter of theirs! They're cannibals, you know."

            Sonic skipped over the part about cannibals; he was starting to doubt anything Hawson said was genuine. "What's the trade deal?" asked Sonic, wary.

            "Trade? No, we give them the blaster packs we feel we don't need. A charity of sorts."

            Sonic fumed inwardly. He knew Hawson was lying through his teeth, but he couldn't say that. If he did, who knew what would happen? Sonic didn't want to end up marooned in the desert a second time.

            And only the leader of the nomads spoke Mobian Standard, so going to them wouldn't help matters any. "How many do you usually give 'em?" he asked.

            "Hmm… about enough to keep twelve guns going for a full year."

            Sonic counted the nomads. Not counting their leader, there were fifteen. Sonic excused himself from Hawson's presence.

            Sonic was, yet again, helpless. His mind was out of control, spinning around with unanswerable questions. Much as he hated it, he'd have to stop yet again to sort things out. 

            He returned to his room. He tried to settle his mind as he focused on his dilemma.

            Question: why am I here?

            Answer: to take out Robuttnik's "kite reller"—whatever the heck it is.

            Question: why don't I take it out now?

            Answer: don't know the way there, can't get back.

            Question: how do I get the information I need to get there and back?

            Answer: can't trust Hawson to give me a straight story, don't wanna talk to James, can't talk to anyone else. Too bad.

            Question: why is Hawson messing with those nomads?

            Answer:

            Sonic threw his pillow in disgust. This wasn't helping either!

            All he knew was that, if what he heard was right, the nomads were in trouble.

            And, being Sonic Hedgehog, he couldn't stand that.

            Part of Bruder's duty cycle was inventory and check-up of the facility's sickbay. Sally stood by as she watched Bruder doing this. "Do you have a doctor?"

            "Not really. Most of us have medical training, though. And when we really need it, there are several doctors in the civilian section."

            "That's odd. Why, out of only two hundred civilians, are there so many doctors?"

            Bruder put her checklist down. "Do you really want to know?"

            "Why, yes."

            Bruder turned around. "The Cabal built a few complexes like this, I think. But when Robotnik's forces came to attack Center City, the Cabal decided not to evacuate to those. Instead, they wanted to send everyone to the other cities in our territory. We'd been sending off communication after communication, begging for peace, but your King wouldn't have it. He just let Robotnik loose for the kill."

            "Never!" said Sally. "Typical Robotnik—he never relayed those communications! He just intercepted them and answered them himself."

            "Sally, I believe you asked me to talk."

            Sally bowed her head. "Yes, I'm sorry."

            "The blow came faster than anyone expected. Our unit, what was left of it, was assigned to evacuate a hospital. We were among the last trying to evacuate. But when Robotnik's forces arrived, they shot down all of the transports." Bruder slammed her fist down, but amazingly kept her voice mostly calm. "Most of them were already loaded to the brim. There were no survivors.

            "Well, the Colonel had helped build this place, and he remembered it. So he ordered everyone to make a break for it. He divided up our unit into several lines. Each line would hold the Swatbots and enemy soldiers back as long as possible. They… would have no backup."

            Sally realized what Bruder was saying. Each line would fight to the death to keep the others safe. Sally was no stranger to war or the specter of death. But she had no idea how those animals must have felt, knowing they were being sacrificed, knowing their mission was suicide.

            "That's why there are so few soldiers left," Bruder said. "They all died to give everyone else a chance.

            "Now Major Bolov wanted to be in one of those lines, but the Colonel wouldn't let him. Bolov was so strong, he was carrying several of the patients from the hospital by himself. Then Robotnik's bombers were starting to drop bombs all over the place. The bombs had timed fuses—they'd go off a few seconds after impact. Well, they dropped one practically on top of Bolov.

            "He dropped the patients he was carrying, picked up the bomb, and hauled it away." Bruder was in awe. "It was the most amazing thing I'd ever seen. He made sure the bomb wouldn't hurt anyone. When he was safely away, he threw the bomb away—and it exploded before he could get back."

            Sally gasped. Bruder just nodded. "That's where his scars are from. That bomb didn't kill him. In fact, he got back in line, picked up the patients, and only collapsed when we were almost here."

            Bruder looked Sally dead in the eyes. "That's why I respect Major Bolov. Because even if I were as strong as he was, I could never do something like that."

            It was night. Sonic knew that the nomads had long-since left. He wanted them to be a good distance away when he got to them.

            He donned his backpack. After a stop at the armory, he exited the compound. He found the tracks the nomads had left and sped in that direction.

            Given the speed he was moving at, it wasn't that long before he found the nomad encampment. He slowed and stopped. There was one big tent, and then around were tiny tents for one animal each. He didn't really know what he planned on doing. Before he could make up his mind, though, from out of the closest tent walked one of the nomads!

            It reacted before Sonic did. Even as Sonic said a weak "What's up?", the nomad was at work. In a flash a knife was through the fur and touching the skin of Sonic's neck.

            The nomad chattered, but of course Sonic didn't understand. What he did understand, from the tone of voice, was the implied threat. I don't respond well to threats, he thought to himself. In a flash of his own, his hand whipped up, grabbed his attacker's wrist, and pulled it safely away from him.

            The attacker reached for its knife with its other hand, but Sonic grabbed that hand with his hand. The figure responded by booting Sonic in the gut.

            Finally, other animals were responding to the scuffle. Numerous animals were running to intervene. Lights blinded Sonic. He was helpless: on the ground and blinded. But the next noise he heard was disturbingly familiar laughter. Then a shape, dark compared to the bright lights, hauled him to his feet—

            And gave him a great big hug.

            "Sonic!" she yelled. And Sonic finally placed the voice: Sandy.

            Months ago, Sally had found her mother and heretofore unknown twin sister, Sandy. They'd been assumed dead during the Great War, but that was through Robotnik's design. They were some of the original Roboticiser victims, though partial victims only. Queen Alicia had died of blood poisoning, but not before seeing how grown up Sally had become. Sandy had become well known to all of Knothole. [Author's note: c.f. "Bloodlines", by Dan Drazen.] Sandy left to rejoin her adopted family—nomads from the east!

            Sonic now returned the hug. This caused loud laughter to break out behind Sandy. Sandy and Sonic broke their hug. "Sonic, you hog, how are you?"

            "Cool, Sandy. How's the arm?"

            Sandy's metal arm—Robotnik's parting gift—was wrapped up, as was the rest of Sandy. "Just fine, Sonic, just fine. What are you doing so far from home?"

            "It's a long story. Think you can spare a few minutes?"

            Before Sandy could answer, a tall figure emerged from the largest tent around. He shouted something in his other language, then repeated himself in Mobian Standard. "What is this disturbance? What is going on?"

            As he advanced, the nomads scurried to get out of his way. Sonic barely held his gasp. This creature was a huge lion, powerfully built and majestic to a fault. "I am Rashid," he said. "Who is this who is so violent with you, Chani?"

            "His name is Sonic, Rashid, of whom I have told you."

            Sonic smiled carelessly. "Hi, big guy," he said, too busy being Sonic to realize the depth of deference everyone was showing Rashid.

            "I am not speaking to you," Rashid said purposefully to Sonic. Sonic recoiled. "Chani, is he worthy to grace our camp?"

            "He is worthy, Rashid."

            "Is he worthy to grace my tent, Chani?"

            "He is worthy, Rashid."

            "Very well. Then let him grace my tent. And all of you may cease with your clamor!" he said, turning. Though, of course, this remark made for a chorus of laughter and cheers for the ignorant newcomer. Sonic had no idea what was going on, but he accepted it all with a smile, letting it get to his ego.

            Rashid and Sandy winked at each other. While there was no doubt that the control Rashid had over everyone in the band was absolute, a lot of the formalities they used were fake, as much for their own amusement as for the befuddling of outsiders. In Sandy's memory, very few had been deemed "unworthy to grace the camp". Besides, tradition died hard.

            Sonic followed the titanic lion to his tent, with Sandy bringing up the rear.

            "You have come a long way to do battle with Chani, Sonic. What has she done to offend you so?" Rashid asked, with a slight tinge of mirth. The three animals sat on a mat of sorts.

            "Just a question, first. Why do you keep calling her Chani?"

            "That's her name," Rashid said simply.

            "Sonic," Sandy said, "my old name wouldn't do. I was a different person out here… I am a different person out here. I mean, they didn't call mother… Alicia by that name, either."

            "Oh. Well, it wasn't ol' Sandy here. The problem is Robuttnik." Both of the other animals' faces fell. Sonic related the story of how he got sent to the desert by mistake. "And the thing he's workin' on is called "kite reller". Mean anything to you guys?"

            "Nothing, Sonic," said Sandy, shaking her head.

            "I have never heard of such a thing."

            "Whatever it is, I aim to take it out."

            Rashid nodded. "I see."

            "I've been here awhile, livin' in Hawson's place, but I'm startin' to not like his attitude."

            "There are many things not to like about that creature," Rashid said darkly.

            "Just what is it that you guys give 'em, anyway?"

            "Two things. One of them are small chunks of power stone. We know where to find them."

            So that's what they use to power their base, thought Sonic to himself. Solar panels… yeah, right, and Robuttnik's a ballerina!

            "The other thing… we grow and supply them with a form of intoxicant."

            Sonic blinked, but a bad feeling swelled inside him. "Intoxicant?"

            "Drugs, Sonic," clarified Sandy.

            Sonic took it like blaster shot. Drugs! So that was why Rashid had mentioned withdrawal when speaking of the citizens! That's why everyone was so docile! That's why Hawson was the leader—if James was right, he'd been dealing this stuff since before the coup. It would be easy from there—guarantee the animals a continuing flow of product and his position would never be threatened.

            "It's repulsive stuff!" yelled Sandy. "This drug kills you when you've taken enough of it. It doesn't have to be all at once—it accumulates. No wonder it's been illegal for ages!"

            "We cannot stop dealing it," Rashid responded. "Our trade with it is, truthfully, our main source of weaponry."

            "Why do ya need weapons so badly you gotta kill people to get 'em?" asked Sonic, his throat constricted.

            "In the past, there were innumerable wars and feuds between the nomads that live out here," Rashid answered. "Since the rise of Robotnik, we have for the most part set aside our differences, but conflicts still arise. Also, Robotnik runs patrols through here constantly. We have encountered several in the past. If we were ever without weaponry, we would die."

            Sonic sneered. "So you'll kill other animals instead of finding another way?"

            Rashid narrowed his eyes, but Sonic was as furious as ever. Rashid spoke deliberately, calmly, but hard. "I cannot help what they want. Time and time again, I have broached the possibility of something else, but never—never—has it been accepted. I inherited this trade from the previous leader. I cannot change their desire, nor can I change what WE need to survive. We are caught in this web, with no escape. You say I am a merchant of death—maybe. I must protect MY animals! If I must help others destroy their own bodies, then I will do that, because the alternative is death to all of my band. I cannot accept that."

            Sandy stepped in. "Now you know why we have such distaste for Hawson. If my guess is right, you had some sort of feeling that told you something wasn't right. The truth is, nothing in that settlement is right. Hawson is destroying them."

            Sonic smoldered inside. A deadly conflict was going on inside of him, and he'd have to make some sort of decision. He would have to accept what they had told him or not. He knew that they were staring at him, waiting for his response, evaluating him. It didn't make him feel any better.

Sonic made his choice. His head drooped down. "I guess you guys are right," he said. Something occurred to him, then; he stood up. "If I brought an animal I knew was okay to you guys, could you protect him?"

            "How do you mean?" asked Rashid.

            "There's someone in there, Rashid, someone who's okay. I wanna save that animal. Could ya help me? Could you protect the animal afterwards?"

            Rashid nodded. "Yes."

            "Alright." Sonic dropped his backpack. "I'll be back in a Sonic second. Juice time!"

            After Sonic was gone, Sandy said to Rashid, "He's very worried and upset."

            "That form of language is how he shows he is upset?"

            "No. It's his cover for it. When he's really upset, it shows quite easily."

            "I see." A pause. "Is he good?"

            "Yes. He is good."

            Corporal Bruder entered the presence of the Colonel. "Sir, reporting as ordered."

            "Good. Corporal, what is your opinion of Princess Sally?"

            Bruder hesitated. "Permission to speak freely, sir?"

            "Granted."

            Still she hesitated. Though she'd suspected that Sally would be the subject of this conversation, she'd come no closer to being able to articulate what she felt. "Well… she follows orders fairly well. She can hold her emotions down well. She's very, very intelligent. But… she hides it, but she's struggling to contain herself."

            "How so?"

            "Well… she believes that the interrogation was the equivalent of rape." She stopped, but the silence was awkward, for her words hung in the air. "Also," she continued quickly, "Sally is desperate to find out what "kite reller" means. It's the reason she came, and she is frustrated because no one knows the answer."

            "Frustrated."

            "Yes, sir, she's asked everyone she's met if they had any inkling."

            "What emotions—besides frustration—do you think she feels?"

            Bruder stumbled. "Sir… I—I don't see why…"

            "Answer the question."

            Bruder swallowed. "Frustration, of course. Anger, maybe."

            "Angry at us?"

            "Definitely at Bolov. But… no, I think that she's really angry at why we won't let her go."

            "And why do you think that is?"

            "Well… because, she's not used to the Cabal, and we're confining her so much."

            "Does being a princess matter?"

            "I'm sure it's not offending her sensibilities, sir." Bruder's voice was firm.

            "Then why does her confinement cause her anger?"

            "Because… she wants to get out?"

            "And do what?"

            "And… be free?"

            "You're guessing, Corporal."

            "I don't know, sir."

            Pause. "One more item, Corporal."

            "Yes, sir?"

            "Do you trust Princess Sally?"

            Now there was a very long pause. "Not completely, sir."

            "Explain yourself."

            "Well, sir… I'm not sure I'd trust her with my life… but I certainly trust her intentions."

            "Very well. That is all." Bruder left, a confused look on her face. The Colonel thought to himself, I must know why she feels such anger. He looked at the plans for upgrading the ventilation and continued thinking. It matters where this anger comes from. Her life depends on it. And my life, too.

            This proposal is good. Why did she make it? Does she have some natural compunction to solve problems? Or is it deeper?

            Sonic re-entered Hawson's complex and went straight in and down the hall. He had to find the door…

            "There he is!"

            Sonic glanced down a side tunnel. Several animals, led by Hawson, were starting to give chase. Though Sonic could outrun them easily, he knew getting out would be a little trickier.

            I'll deal with that later, he thought. First, find James.

            He came to the door and went through, locking it behind him. "James!" he called.

            The scientist looked up from his typing work. "Yes, what is it?"

            "How 'bout I bust you outta this joint?"

            "Out? As in, above the ground?"

            "Yeah. Listen, I gotta place to put you. You'll be free and clear of these drug-heads."

            "So you—"

            "Yeah. I know. That's why I wanna get you out. Well? You've got a Sonic Second! Hawson saw me; make up your mind."

            James hesitated for just a second, then stood up. "You know it's been twelve years since I've seen the sun?"

            "Twelve years? But I thought…"

            There was a boom on the door. Sonic looked around. "Any other way outta here?"

            James shook his head. "Just the main. What, you didn't have a plan for getting out?"

            "Never do. We'll just have to go through 'em. Follow me!"

            They reached the last corner of the winding path below. "Okay, they're gonna bust that door. When I start movin', you do too. I'm gonna go right in their faces. After that, you'd better be ready to juice, cause there's no goin' back!"

            Sonic heard a blaster shot and saw that someone had pulverized the door's lock. He ran towards the door. Before he got there, one of Hawson's animals kicked it down. The next thing he saw was a little blue ball.

            Animals went flying everywhere. Before they could get to their feet, James caught up to Sonic, and Sonic dragged him towards the exit hatch.

            However, waiting for them was Hawson with a few of his friends. Sonic put on the brakes when he saw they all had blasters—and they were all leveled at him.

            "Sonic, you robbed us," Hawson sneered. "We thought you were a friend—but you're just helping out those cannibals!"

            "Some friend you were!" Sonic shot back. "I bet you never thought one bit about "kite reller" like you said you would. I heard you gouging those nomads. You make me wanna hurl!"

            "Oh, you'll more than hurl. The fact is, there's no telling what you might do now. I certainly can't trust you."

            Sonic was furious to the point of being inarticulate. He had been wondering about just how low he thought of Hawson. But now the dog was showing no regret. That meant he was low. "And I was stupid for trusting you! You… you… drug dealer!"

            Hawson was surprised—for a flat second. "So now you know, just like James."

            "I know that you're killing everyone who depends on you," said Sonic with something approaching hate.

            "I don't think he knows the whole story, though," said James. "Go ahead, Hawson—this is your crowning moment. Tell him everything! You started expanding this complex during the Great War, just in case you needed a place to hide. Tell him how you knew the coup was coming; how you knew the Swatbots would arrive. Tell him how you gathered some of your younger addicts and brought them here, expanding the complex further. There was a month between the coup and the takeover here, and in that month, you expanded the complex enough to support your group. You gathered, bought, or stole enough supplies to last a lifetime."

            "Of course," said Hawson. "I knew that, with their help, I could continue my trade with the nomads. Once my followers got their drugs, they'd be passive enough. I could survive indefinitely, at least until they started dying from that stuff. That's right, it's all true. And now, James, I think you've lived long enough without trying some of our product. You're gonna get the biggest dose ever administered. And YOU, Sonic—at this point, you know our base and its location. You could bring anyone you wanted to and bust us. You're too dangerous to let live. I think I'll let you watch what happens to James. Then you get it, too."

            Sonic's eyes blazed. "Never. When I die, it's on my terms."

            "So you'd rather die here? Is that what you're saying?"

            "NO!" Out of nowhere, Dirla came flying at Hawson. She grabbed his blaster arm. Though he fired instinctively, Hawson's shot was aimed poorly and didn't do anything. "No, daddy, don't hurt him! He's nice and good and… and…"

            "Get off of me, wench!" snarled Hawson. He ripped his hand free and clobbered Dirla with his gun. She screamed and fell. "What a mistake you were! Stupid bastard!" he yelled, kicking her.

            "Raaaaah!" Sonic went berserk. Hawson's guards had turned their attention to Dirla's beating; they never had a chance. Sonic tore into them with spins and punches. In short order the only animal standing was James. "C'mon!" Sonic shouted, breathing heavily. "Get out! I'm getting Dirla!"

            As James climbed the ladder, Sonic caressed Dirla's head. "Don't worry, he's out. I'm gonna take you away, Dirla." He didn't know if she even heard him. He tried again. "Dirla… you wanna see the desert? Do you wanna come out?"

            She looked up. "Do you… doyou meanit, Sonic?"

            "I swear by my hedgehog heart, Dirla, I'm gonna take you someplace safe."

            "Please!" she yelled, embracing him. "Please, take me away! Pleeease!"

            "Don't worry, come with me. Up the ladder. I'll go first, you follow."

            "O-okay." So Sonic led Dirla up and out of her prison. He saw that she was a child—she was older than he was, but she was a child, just the same.

            "Sally, good to see you," said Segeant Agnew. "Guess what? The Colonel says your project is approved. He says it's a great idea and he wants it to get started."

            "Great!" shouted Sally. "When do we start? Who do we talk to?"

            Agnew's face fell. "Well, actually… he didn't assign anyone to the project yet…"

            Sally saw it. "And he didn't allocate resources yet, and he doesn't have a timetable, and he doesn't have any information for us."

            Agnew could only nod. She was right on target.

            Sally cradled her face in a paw and gave a short, but agonized, scream. "Why won't anyone trust me?"

            "I trust you," said Agnew, "and I know Bruder does, too. The fact is, this is a big operation. Just because he hasn't gotten the ball rolling yet doesn't mean it's dead and buried. Maybe you could be more trusting."

            Sally jerked, then sat down. "Maybe you're right," she said. "I just wish I could do… something."

            "Do you really think you have to fight Robotnik to earn our trust?"

            "No," she said, "but I worry about what might happen while we're doing nothing." Something was bugging her, though. She spoke again. "Why do you keep your ranks?"

            "What?"

            "Everything is so structured here. You still have military as a distinct entity, you still have strict ranks… it's like you transplanted your entire society. Your social order, everything's the same. Why?"

            Agnew blinked several times, puzzled. "We're just going on as we have before. Don't you have a social order at Knothole?"

            "Not really," said Sally, which was the truth. "Everyone's a Freedom Fighter, even me. I may be in charge, but that doesn't change anything."

            Agnew frowned. "Is this how you plan things to be when this war's over?"

            "No. I guess then, being Princess will mean a lot more. But right now, it's meaningless. But with you… it's like any day now, you're planning to see the Cabal rise from the dead."

            She saw Agnew struggle with the concept. He finally shrugged it off. "It's a dangerous time. Every animal has to deal with it somehow. For us, this works."

            Sally understood, but she didn't like it.

            Sonic dashed back on the same path to the nomads. This time, though, he carried two passengers. Dirla and James trailed out in a chain behind him. He knew that he'd be approaching the camp soon, so he started slowing down. Then he saw a hover unit, parked on the ground!

            He screeched to a halt, but inertia carried his chain into him, and the three animals collapsed in a heap. He rose, as if to salvage some dignity, and whispered to them. "Listen you two, lay low. I got everything under control, but you never know what's gonna happen. Got it?"

            They nodded, and Sonic took off—quietly.

            There were actually three hover units there. Sonic poked his head out from around one of them. A ring of Swatbots, blasters pointed, surrounded the band of nomads. One was calling in on a communicator, "Repeat, rebels-identified-and-apprehended. Request-detachment-of-portable-Roboticiser."

            Sonic, his blood still boiling from dealing with Hawson, took off. "Hey, Swatbutts! Guess who's here!"

            "Priority-one-hedgehog!"

            "You got it! Juice time!"

            Sonic started running around the Swatbots. They all turned and started shooting at him. He could outrun their targeting—for a while, at least. Why didn't they get it? "Sandy! Get 'em!"

            That was enough. He saw Sandy smile. The Swatbots were so preoccupied with Sonic, they'd left their prisoners unattended. And their prisoners didn't need weapons at this range.

            Sandy started the party by punching a big hole in a Swatbot's chest. Her other hand blurred in motion, but when it stopped, a knife was sticking in a Swatbot's neck. As if on cue, the nomads exploded into combat that was as chaotic as it was one-sided. In seconds, only scrap metal remained.

            Sonic screeched to a halt. "Good work, Sandy. What was that all about?"

            Bitterness overwhelmed Sandy's voice. "Hawson was trying to gouge us twice! Some of the power packs he gave us were drained! All the blasters we had with those power packs couldn't shoot. We had to surrender!"

            "That creep!" intoned Sonic. He was interrupted by a wail. An animal was weeping. Sonic looked and saw one of the nomads dead and several wounded. The weeping animal was rocking the body of the dead—obviously her mate.

            "The Swatbots did one shooting pass before they landed," Sandy explained, still overwhelmed by bitterness.

            "Hawson will pay for this with his own blood!" shouted the weeper.

            "Yo, Rashid, I need to talk to ya." Sonic motioned away. Rashid and Sandy walked with Sonic to outside of the camp.

            "Sonic," said Rashid, "we are very grateful to you. We are in your debt."

            "Save it. First, you'd better get a few of those hover crates in the air. You heard; a portable Roboticiser is on the way. They don't send those alone."

            "Yes, of course." Rashid ordered some animals to do so. "My mind is scattered from all that has happened. One thing is certain, though: Hawson will pay for this."

            "Wait, you said you're in my debt, right?"

            Rashid paused, then bowed his head. "Yes."

            "Then I want you to help me mess up ol' Robo-butt. Now, I don't know what "kite reller" is, but I know it's gonna be defended. I have to ask for your help."

            Rashid frowned severely. "There is much risk in that. Penetrating Robotnik's city will not be easy, and getting out will be much harder. After tonight, I am not anxious to watch more of my animals die."

            "I know you don't wanna, but it's gotta be done."

            Rashid shook his head. "We may be in your debt, but we can not pay a debt with our lives."

            Sonic stood back and thought, tapping his foot to make the thought come faster. "I'll help you get Hawson," he said at last.

            "What?" asked Rashid.

            "WHAT?" shouted Sandy.

            "You want revenge on Hawson. I'll help you—make sure no one gets hurt BUT Hawson. There—I'm savin' you twice. Deal?"

            "Sonic?" asked Sandy, voice trembling.

            Rashid considered, then bowed his head. "You have an agreement. May you honor it more than Hawson honored his." Rashid turned and walked back towards his group.

            "Sonic?" asked Sandy once more.

            "Wha-at?"

            "Do you know what you're doing?"

            Sonic shook his head. "I'm goin' from second to second. All I know is what's gotta happen."

            "Sonic," she said, turning him around to face her, "when I came to Knothole, I went after Robotnik for vengeance's sake. Because of that, I ended up risking Bunnie's life—and therefore, all of Knothole."

            Sonic shook free. "You're sayin' that Hawson doesn't deserve every bit of what's comin' to him?"

            Sandy shook her head. "No. That's like saying that Robotnik didn't deserve what I wanted to give him. But don't let vengeance for its own sake eat you up. You have to remember why it is you're fighting against Robotnik… and now, why it is you're fighting against Hawson."

            "I'm fighting against Hawson because…"

            "Because he hurt all these animals."

            "No!"

            "Yes! Sonic, think this through. You're fighting because the score is personal. You've gotta think of it as more than that."

            He turned away. "You sound like Sally!"

            She turned him back to facing her. "With good reason! Sonic, the line between justice and vengeance is a hair-ribbon. But crossing it is dangerous. All I'm asking is for you to think about it."

            Sonic shook his head and laughed bitterly. "Thinking's one thing that hasn't worked while I've been here."

            "Please?"

            It stopped him. He dropped his head until he stopped it with his paw. "Sandy, I'm real tired…"

            She embraced him to keep him standing. "I know. You've been betrayed, and you've done a lot of fighting today. You deserve some rest."

            He nodded. "Soon as I pick up James and Dirla."

            James and Dirla sat in awkward silence. James spoke at last. "So, is it… true, what you and Hawson said?"

            "About what?"

            "About you being his…"

            "Bastard child?"

            James nodded.

            A sigh, long and loud, came from Dirla like a big yes. "He was trying his own product. My mother was an addict. She killed herself with that gunk of hers after I was born."

            "It's a wonder you…"

            "Didn't come out all screwed up?"

            James nodded. "I thought that, if your mother was on, it could really mess you up—maybe even make you addicted before you're born."

            "It should have been that way. No one really knows what happened. Maybe my mom wasn't a heavy user until after I was born. Maybe she became a heavy user because I was born. I don't know." She sighed. "I had nowhere to go, so I stayed with Hawson. He didn't kick me out or kill me. I mean, he wasn't a father in any way… but he didn't do anything bad to me."

            "His one display of compassion."

            Dirla laughed. "Compassion? Nah. Some of the police were suspicious of his activities; if they launched an investigation about child abuse, they'd uncover the drug stuff. No, he was nice out of sheer selfishness."

            "And then you came out to the complex."

            She nodded. "I hated that place! It's like he knew I would hate it, and got his revenge on me by making me stay there."

            "His revenge for your birth."

            Dirla shrugged. "And I never tried his drugs. Not once. He must've hated that." She poked the ground. "Do you know where we're going now?"

            "Nope. All I know is he said somewhere safe."

            "Sonic?"

            "Mm-hmm."

            "Then he must be right."

            "What makes you so sure?"

            She lay down on the ground. "I trust Sonic."

            And before she got to sleep, Sonic arrived and delivered them to the camp.

            Sally lay in bed in the barracks. It was time to stop letting that "kite reller" mystery bug her; it was now or never to solve it!

            She sat up and made a tent with her sheets. Then she unclipped Nicole and opened her. "Nicole, are you absolutely certain that there is no possible dictionary definition for "kite" or "reller"?"

            "Yes, Sally. While you were not using me, I ran searches for variable spellings and archaic forms of both words. No results returned."

            "Examine all language databases, no matter how old."

            It was something Nicole had already done, but, she reflected, it made Sally feel good. Besides, there was no harm in checking twice, even if the outcome was predetermined. "Checking… no results, Sally."

            "Check all reference libraries for any instances of either word."

            "Working, Sally." The computer happily hummed away. "In one of the island cultures off of the continent, a "kite" is a decorative device, flown in the air using a long string or thread. Generally, it is a display of…"

            "Is there any application of this that might interest Robotnik?" Sally interrupted.

            "Probability is below five percentage points."

            No, in other words, Sally thought. "Is it possible it's an acronym?"

            "The possibility it is an acronym does exist, Sally. However, there are a very large number of different word combinations that could involve ten letters. It would be impossible, statistically speaking, for you to analyze all of them in your lifetime."

            Sally grimaced. Robotnik was being more clever than usual… she had to figure it out!

            Sonic was almost asleep when it occurred to him. "Kite reller" didn't mean that at all… it was a trick!

            Sonic shook Sandy. "What?" she grumbled.

            "I need pencil, paper, and a flashlight."

            "Find it in my pack," she mumbled back.

            Sonic did, and started writing down words.

            Sally snapped her fingers. "Nicole, what if it's an amalgam?"

            "The possibility does exist, Sally. However, there are 3,628,800 possibilities for amalgams using those ten letters."

            Ten-factorial, of course, Sally thought. Ouch. "Wait… toss out all the ones that don't spell words."

            A second passed, then a beep. "List compiled."

            "Display, Nicole, and scroll down one word every two seconds."

            "Complying, Sally."

            Sonic stopped writing. There it was, clear as day.

            "Nicole, stop!" Nicole beeped and complied. There it was, clear as day.

            "Kite reller is an amalgam for "tree killer"!" Sonic and Sally shouted. "It's a chemical designed to wipe out forests!"

Chapter Four: Reckoning

            Sally jumped out of her bed to the floor. She threw on her borrowed slacks and tried to compose herself. Then, she resolutely headed for the door.

            "Stop, Sally," came the command from behind her.

            She turned and saw Bruder standing there. In her paws was a blaster. "Bruder…"

            "I don't know what you're doing, but stand down."

            "Bruder, I must talk to your Colonel. It's vital that I do."

            "Stand down."

            Sally shook her head. "Why don't you trust me?"

            "It's the middle of the night. Can't anything wait until morning?"

            "This can't."

            "I do trust you, Sally. But some people don't. They won't take kindly of you walking around at night, whatever your avowed reason. And it's my responsibility to see that that doesn't happen. So, for your own safety, I have to ask you to kindly get back in bed and stay there."

            "Bruder, please don't shoot me, but I have to go. You're going to have to trust me, or shoot me. But I'm not going back to bed right now." With that, she turned away from Bruder and towards the doorway. Trying to dispel the tightening of muscles everywhere in her body, she walked towards the door, slowly but surely.

            Bruder didn't shoot immediately, she thought. Good. I'm alright for now.

            Take one step at a time. Don't rush. Nice and easy. Look natural. Be careful. No sudden moves. Don't force Bruder into a mistake.

            She heard Bruder shaking, could almost feel her worry and her inability to cope with her dilemma. For a second, Sally sympathized. She wished she could spend more time with that, but she was in a hurry. Finally she was to the door. She turned back to Bruder. "Thank you for trusting me," she said. "You're a good animal."

            Bruder dropped her gun, still shaking. "I… I guess I should come with you…"

            "No. If I run into a certain someone, I'd rather he take it all out on me than get you involved. This is my risk. I don't want you sharing it. You see, all this time, you're asleep."

            Bruder nodded her head. "Thank you," she whispered.

            Sally walked resolutely away from the barracks. "Nicole, do you have a complete version of the complex schematics?"

            "Negative. My version is 75% complete for actual hallways and areas of habitation, below 50% overall."

            "Display what you have." The computer complied. "Identify where the Colonel most likely is at this time." A big red dot appeared in one of the areas Nicole hadn't mapped. "Nicole, are you kidding me?"

            "You aren't Sonic," Nicole replied.

            Sally rolled her eyes. As if that explained everything… "Nicole, where are we?"

            "We are here," Nicole responded, placing a pulsing red dot on the map.

            Sally looked at how to get from dot to dot. "Okay… got it. Thank you, Nicole." The hologram went away, and Sally went dashing down the hallways, quickly as she dared.

            Sonic shook James awake. "Wha—oh, you again! I swear, Sonic, you have a bad habit of waking me up…"

            "James, if I were out to wipe out a whole buncha trees, could I do it from here?"

            James shook his head. "No, not really. There aren't many trees out here at all."

            "No, no… I mean, okay, what's the deal with this aquifer stuff?"

            James sat up. "Got pencil and paper?"

            Sonic supplied them. "Well, it isn't a real aquifer. "Real" aquifers are areas below the surface that collect water. Usually, plants or Mobians tap into aquifers to get at the water that builds up there."

            "Okay, yeah, boring, what about THIS aquifer?"

            "Settle down, Sonic. You're the first animal to display interest in my work in years! Let's see… This aquifer is more like an underground river. It actually starts back at the edge of the continent—some animals thought the ocean fed it… Here, I'll show you." He started drawing. "The river goes from the sea, and off the sea, it's desert. Then, we get to this sort-of desert. There's more moisture here, by a little, and so we get some plant life. And so on until we get closer to the middle of the continent. Then start the forests. You see, for some reason we don't understand, only the desert around the edges of the continent is above sea level. The rest of the continent is practically a valley; it's all below sea level!"

            Sonic's patience was going, going, gone. "I don't care right now, James," he said. Finally, James understood how serious Sonic was. "Where does the water go?"

            James traced the course of the river and tried to match it with a map in his mind. "Let's see… eventually… it feeds into the Great Forest."

            "The Great Forest?!"

            "Sure. Water goes downhill in the river into the Great Forest. That's one of the reasons the trees live so long; they're immune to drought."

            "Wait a second… if you got a poison, something to kill trees, and dumped it into the river, wouldn't it kill trees in the Great Forest?"

            James thought. "Well, yeah. Dissolve the poison in the water and the water'll carry it down so it can start killing trees. But how would you get it into the river from here?"

            Sonic and James got it at the same time. "The rainy season!"

            "Of course!" James shouted. "The rainy season is about to start! Spray some of that poison around, and the rainwater will dissolve it. When the rainwater seeps into the river, it'll carry at least some of the poison with it!"

            "And the river will carry the poison water to the Great Forest to start killing off the trees." Sonic's voice was grim.

            James' voice fell in a hurry. "We weren't discussing that for fun, were we?"

            Sonic shook his head. "Nope. Robotnik has some tree killer stuff. Unless we stop him, he's gonna destroy the Great Forest from way back up here."

            Sally knew she was approaching the area Nicole had proposed the Colonel might be. She slowed down to inspect the labels on the doors. "Nothing yet, Nicole. Are you sure about where the Colonel could be?"

            "Negative, Sally. I never had the complete schematic. I could only compile a map from what my passive sensors could detect while you carried me around."

            Sally continued down the hall. She entered a part where there were no doors for a while. As she continued walking forward, she heard footsteps behind her. "Nicole, identify the animal following me," she said without turning.

            "It is Major Bolov," answered Nicole.

            Sally sped up her walking. She heard Bolov's footsteps speed up, too. "Why are there no doors here?" she said. She broke into a trot. Even still she heard Bolov staying mostly with her. There! A door. And it even said on it: "Colonel's residence." Sally grabbed the doorknob and went in, a slight step ahead of the bear on her heels.

            "Colonel!" she cried. She glanced over her shoulder. Though the lighting was dim, she could clearly see Major Bolov's outline. "Colonel!" she cried again.

            "Get out of here!" roared Bolov as he reached for Sally. Sally evaded him, barely. He gave chase, though Sally was always one step ahead. Over and around the furniture of the Colonel's home went the chase.

            "Colonel, please!" She found herself boxed in a corner. Bolov lunged, but she worked herself around and under him and ended up safely behind him. He whirled around and grabbed again, missing by a spare centimeter.

            "Major Bolov, cease and desist!"

            It was a voice Sally had never heard before. Though a quiet and high-pitched voice, it had the strength to stop the bear Major in his tracks. The lights came on to reveal the Colonel.

            Sally moved away from Bolov as she inspected the Colonel. It was a surprise, because Bolov, a great bear, was taking orders from a mouse!

            Granted, the mouse was only slightly shorter than Sally, and had the rigid, strong posture and carriage granted by years of military service. Yet in the back of her mind, the concept still amused Sally. The very back of her mind.

            "Sir," said Bolov, breathing heavily, "she is breaking her duty cycle curfew and trespassing in restricted areas. When I approached her she fled like a thief."

            Sally interrupted him. "Colonel, I came here to warn you. I finally figured out what Robotnik's up to. He's engineered some new defoliant. He'll test it out on the trees above these mountains! Then, it doesn't matter what system of vents you're using; infrared sensors will pick at least one up for certain. Then you're all doomed!"

            "Sir…"

            "Hush, Bolov," said the Colonel. "Sally, answer me: how do you know?"

            Sally clamed herself and gathered her faculties. Then she breathed once and answered. "I first noticed these containers by accident. They were shielded from scans. When I opened them up their contents were shielded. They were cylinders, airtight as their containers. This sort of poison is usually in gas form, so cylinders make sense. Their name is "kite reller". That's an amalgam for "tree killer". Robotnik has tried developing defoliants in Robotropolis before, but we've always identified and destroyed his work. Now, he's working on them in your city, instead."

            The Colonel sat down to think. He closed his eyes and sat for almost a minute. Finally, he said to Bolov, "Is there anyone on duty in the computer lab?"

            Bolov answered the question, though it seemed forced. "Sir, I believe it's Private Bensen's turn in there, now."

            "Very well. Send Sally down there with instructions for Private Bensen. Tell him he's to cooperate fully with Sally in confirming and finding this "kite reller"."

            Bolov was shocked. He shook his head. "No, but sir, she…"

            "Major, it has been years since we've had a court martial here. Follow my orders, Major!"

            Bolov's expression showed that he'd rather strap explosives to his body and head for Robotropolis than follow this order. It took him several seconds to move in a manner other than shaking. His face contorted as he fought the war between hate and duty. But finally, in an almost comical, almost pitiful gesture, he saluted his Colonel and left the room.

            Sally bowed her head. "Thank you, Colonel…"

            He dismissed her with his hand. "You have your instructions, too, Sally. Go."

            Though it was abrupt, Sally accepted it and ran after Bolov.

            The Colonel fell back onto his bed. "I pray I'm right," he whispered.

            "We will use two of these hover units," said Rashid. "They can get us there and take us back when we are done. Are you sure the enemy will not shoot at them immediately, Sonic?"

            "Pretty close, big guy. We've done this before up at Knothole, should work here, too."

            "What, exactly, is our plan?"

            "Uh, Sandy, help me out here, 'kay?"

            Sandy rolled her eyes. "We don't have a plan, remember?"

            Sonic smiled nervously under Rashid's skeptical glare. "Uh, right." Where's Sal when you need her, he thought. "Well, I say we just hit 'em. If I go in first, I'll flush the freighter out. He'll run away to get away from me. That's when you guys blow him outta the sky."

            "Works for me," said Sandy.

            Rashid nodded. "I would advise you to refine it a little, but it could work as it is."

            "Great, then that's the plan," Sonic said. "Soon as you're ready, we can toast that sucker!"

            "Tomorrow, Sonic. First there's something we need to do," explained Sandy.

            "Deal. I'm gonna catch some z's. Later!"

            The combined efforts of Sally, Nicole, and Private Bensen cracked into the Center City database. It helped that Bensen's father had helped design the database. "There it is," said Sally. "Kite reller."

            "Shipped to building 1138 for ongoing testing and deployment application."

            "It's sitting there. They're testing it to be sure how effective it'll be."

            "And while it sits there, we can smoke it."

            Private Bensen reached for his communicator. "Major Bolov, we have the target sighted."

            Morning had come before preparation for the next night's raid began. Sally went to bed to catch some sleep before the event. She didn't know who was going, but she slept well with the knowledge that, at last, something was being done.

            That evening, Bolov called Sally and numerous other soldiers to a briefing room. Sally sat down with the soldiers, between Felam and Bruder. This time, though, she kept her company with them because she felt like it.

            Bolov entered the room at the head. He stood before a podium, almost comically dwarfing it. After all, it hadn't been built to his proportions. He addressed the soldiers. "As you may or may not know, Robotnik is on the offensive against us once again. He has a defoliant that will exterminate the trees above this mountain range. If he hits this mountain with it, it will expose the vents of our ventilation system, and there's no escape for us. We don't know how much of the defoliant he has, so the possibility exists that it won't harm us. However, we feel it necessary to eliminate this defoliant and terminate all research involving it. To that end, we have designed this operation."

            He paused. He closed his eyes and, though it seemed as if it pained him, he spoke once more.

            "Sally."

            All eyes came to rest on the princess. She didn't flinch in the slightest.

            "Come forward please."

            This is it, she thought. Time to do your best, Sally-girl.

            She thought of Bunnie, of Rotor, of Sonic and Tails and Antoine. She had rarely had to summon up so much strength to deal with them as was required of her now. That was because she knew they believed in her. These animals didn't. That was her task.

            You almost trust me, she thought at them. Almost. You must if we're to survive.

            I can't do it alone. I need your help. But we've got to trust each other.

            You've shown some trust in me. I'm willing to trust in you—but it's all or nothing. We do this or we don't. We've got to be in it all the way.

            She stood up and walked towards the front. As she did, her mind stayed on her friends from home. As she walked, she remembered all the times she'd led them, and the faith they all had in each other. And somehow, that trust strengthened her.

            She stood at the front of the room. She stopped to look into Bolov's eyes. Bolov stared right back, then ceded his position. Sally turned to the soldiers. They were waiting, expectant, wanting to know what to think.

            One more time, she saw her friends. How many times had they given her this same look? Only one thing was different: what she thought or knew would happen, what their response would be. With the Knothole Freedom Fighters, she knew that they would follow her. Her confidence swelled.

            When she spoke, there wasn't the slightest quaver or quiver. "Good afternoon. Bolov is right: this defoliant, "kite reller" or "tree killer", is too great a threat. So much of this continent is forest that Robotnik could expose any number of villages with kite reller." She glanced at Bolov, but he didn't respond. She continued. "It has to be destroyed, here and now."

            She opened Nicole. "Nicole, display hologram of target building."

            "Displaying, Sally."

            When the image was floating, fully formed, before her, Sally glanced around. So far, everyone was following her. Good. "This is the building where Robotnik is testing his kite reller. It's well guarded, of course; Robotnik knows the implications of this stuff as well as we do. Swatbots patrol every entrance and point of approach. They operate in four-robot teams. Additionally, all those Swatbots are linked to an extra computer network. If one goes down, the others will know and automatically sound the alarm. Finally…" Nicole zoomed the image out and added red lines. "Finally, Swatbot hover units patrol these lines once every fifteen minutes."

            She waited a moment for that to sink in. And now, she thought, the dramatic plan of attack. "So we'll do a direct attack. Major Bolov?"

            The bear nodded. "Swatbot reaction times are a little under two seconds. It'll require precise timing, but we will split up in teams of two. Each team will be assigned four Swatbots. This will be your ultimate shooting test: this raid will only work if each team can down all four bots in under two seconds. If we fail, those Swatbots sound the alarm and the mission is scrubbed. If we fail, Robotnik will double security on the lab and we'll never get into it."

            "Which is why we won't fail," Sally almost interrupted. "We will act exactly one minute after the hover unit patrols. That leaves us fourteen minutes to destroy the research station and get out.

            "Since their networks are weaker, Robotnik hasn't assigned any worker bots to this project; Swatbots and techbots only. Therefore, we don't have to worry about collateral damage. Our plan," Nicole now went to schematic mode, showing the interior of the building, "is to plant explosives on the structural supports. We've determined that explosives in five places will be enough to collapse the research center down to the ground. The research will be lost and the kite reller will be trapped and dispersed. The threat will be completely nullified."

            Bolov finished the briefing. "Once we're out, we'll proceed straight to the sewer. There are several ways into the sewer, any one will do. Once we're safely away, we'll detonate the explosives and forget we ever heard about kite reller."

            Sally took a deep breath and started down the home stretch. "It's important to remember that this is all in under fourteen minutes. At that time, the hover unit patrols will return, notice the downed Swatbots, and sound the alarm. If we're not done by then, we'll scrub the mission and run for the sewer. But it can be done. I have faith in our abilities. We can do it. And we will do it. Any questions?"

            One paw raised into the air. "Sally," asked Bruder, "how many animals are going on this trip?"

            "Ten."

            They'd known many were needed, but it was still a shock. So many! They ran a great risk of detection, and if something went wrong, it would cripple the unit. It was a huge risk. Discussion ensued amongst the soldiers.

            "As I said, five two-animal teams. Any other questions?"

            The soldiers settled down.

            Now, Sally thought, we ask the audience how well the performer did. Every aspect of this is like I'm on some kind of stage!

            And would you really have it any other way?

            No.

            Then you're just like Sonic. He just goes about himself another way. For one thing, he admits it.

            She almost smiled at the thought, but steeled herself for the final act.

            "Due to the inherent danger, this is a volunteer-only mission. I don't want anyone to feel obligated to go. But I won't question your motives if you say you want to come.

            "Bolov and myself are already on the mission roster. Anybody else, please stand up, and we will note your names."

            Sally stepped down from the podium and stood beside Bolov. No one stirred. Sally began to lash herself with doubt…

            When Corporal Bruder shifted in her seat.

            She began to stand up. Felam reached for her hand, stopped her, tried to whisper to her; but she ignored him, shook free, and stood tall.

            Sally thought she might cry.

            Felam studied his shoes, threw his hands into the air, but finally rose beside Bruder.

            Sergeant Agnew stood next. Private Bensen followed shortly. And then everyone in the room was standing.

            It worked, thought Sally.

            And she heard her friends talking.

            "Way to go, Sally-girl!" shouted Bunnie.

            "You made it work!" cheered Rotor.

            "Alright!" cried Tails.

            "Magnifique!" exclaimed Antoine.

            And then there was Sonic, standing there, arms crossed. Then he smiled broad as the forest. "Way past cool," he said to her. "Way past cool."

Chapter Five: Kite Reller

            The sounds and smoke from a fire woke Sonic up. He was alarmed, and sprang up; but when he saw that it was a carefully controlled campfire, he sat back down. The fire was quite large and encircled with rocks. There was some setup above and around that looked like it was made of tent poles, but Sonic couldn't grasp the significance.

            "Wood's difficult to get out here," said James thoughtfully. Sonic started again, but James was just sitting behind him. "It must be something special."

            Sonic wondered what was going on, too. He knew that Rashid, Sandy, and most of the nomads had been doing something during the night, but he didn't know what it was. Something about the fire, though, felt odd.

            He looked out of the tent and saw the sun directly overhead. Just about noon, then, he thought. All that's happened has messed up my sleeping.

            Just then, Rashid entered Sonic's field of vision in the area around the fire. "Then let us begin," he announced, "the feast of the dead."

            He stepped forward. Behind him came several nomads carrying a platter and another animal carrying a bag. Something in the bag rattled dully. The animal that carried it looked like the dead animal's mate.

            Sonic stood. "Man, I'm starved. What's on the plat—" he stopped in horror. Sonic had never seen real meat before. He'd only eaten substitutes that looked, tasted, and felt like the real thing, while maintaining all the nutritional value to satisfy natural carnivores. But this was real meat!

            Sandy walked over to Sonic. "Come, join us," she said.

            Sonic scrambled away as if her touch was poison. "Where'd ya get that meat, huh? WHERE?!"

            Sandy had known this would happen. "Off of the dead animal's body, Sonic."

            "WHAT?!"

            Sandy approached him, trying to comfort him. "It's an old desert ritual. The flesh of a dead animal is consumed by those closest to him."

            Sonic was in total panic. The idea was abomination to him.

            "After all, he has no more use for his flesh. But if he gives it to us and we take, then he helps us stay alive even longer, and we remember him even more. It only makes sense, doesn't it?"

            Didn't it? "No way! You really are cannibals, aren't you?!"

            "NO!" Sandy barked. "It's an honor. We only eat those whom we loved. Enemies and living animals are completely off limits."

            Sonic was no longer in a mood to listen. In horror, he jumped up and ran completely away as fast as he could.

            The little Cabal force advanced towards Center City. It was strange, thought Sally, to work so hard to gain their trust and then turn some of them away! Still, the plan called for ten, so only ten could go.

            She glanced up at Bolov. He'd seemed a different animal since the briefing. Sally supposed that he hadn't expected it to go Sally's way that much.

            She sidled up next to him. They were one of the two-animal teams, by his insistence. She knew it was because he felt he had to keep an eye on her. "Major?"

            He blinked, as if coming out of a trance. "What?"

            "Major?"

            "Yes?"

            "There's something I feel… I need to get off of my back."

            He gave a big humph.

            "I forgive you."

            Major Bolov stumbled and barely recovered. He whipped his head around to look at her. "What?!"

            She wasn't even looking at him. "I forgive you. For your interrogation of me."

            He stammered. "I neither require nor request your forgiveness!"

            "Maybe not. But I needed to give it." She looked up at him. "You hurt me badly. But I know your reasons, and I can understand you to a certain degree. What you did was wrong, but I know your intentions are genuine, so I want to trust you. Something has to give. I give away the grudge." She looked up at him. "You're forgiven."

            He could not respond. He looked away with his face showing Sally ample confusion. She left him to his thoughts and the two exchanged no more words.

            Sonic ran for hours as thoughts and horrors swirled in his head.

            Hawson had seemed nice and affable, and he did seem to want Robotnik gone. But in reality he was a murderer, an animal willing to sacrifice dozens just to live in comfort. And he didn't care if Robotnik stayed or went.

            Sandy and Rashid had seemed willing to help, and vastly preferable to Hawson. They'd promised to look after Sonic's friends. Yet they were cannibals, and they would rather avoid Robotnik than confront him.

            As Sonic slowed and stopped, he wanted to collapse. The nomads' practices were disgusting! Vengeance and cannibalism… why did Sandy even tolerate them?

            There must be some good to them, he thought. Sandy's like Sally most ways. She'd know what to do, wouldn't she? And she'd decided to stay with them. Can they really be all that bad?

            Sonic didn't know what to do. All he knew he could rely upon was himself. And he remembered why he'd come down there, before everything got so complicated: Robotnik.

            He shook his head. If Robotnik wanted to distract Sonic from dealing with kite reller, this was the way to do it. It was almost as if Robotnik had planned it.

            Sonic looked around. To his amazement, he'd stopped on the path between the nomad camp and Hawson's complex. He looked for the sun and tried to remember. He'd asked Sandy where the city was. She'd pointed, saying, "Directly into the setting sun, from here."

            That meant, he thought, that he was at an angle here… he tried to work it out. He grimaced. "Almost makes me wish I'd paid attention to math. Let's see… oh forget it. I'll just take a shot, and if it doesn't work out, I'll try again. I'll get there sooner or later!"

            "All units," said Bolov over his communicator, "prepare to begin countdown." Sally looked over the pile of trash that was their cover. Everything was how she predicted: four bots were guarding the door. How to handle them?

            She knew as well as Bolov that, no matter how good a shot Bolov was, blasters simply couldn't recharge four times in two seconds. So they needed a way to deal with the other two bots—inside two seconds, of course.

            On the other side of the target building, Bruder and Felam were also behind cover, awaiting the go-ahead to start the countdown. Bruder nodded at Felam from across the street. Bruder leaned back just a little and heard some trash go spilling.

            Bruder froze stock-still. Had the Swatbots heard her? She glanced over at Felam. His face was alarmed, but he didn't know. Then they both heard Swatbot footsteps. At this range, in total quiet, they sounded like thunderclaps, approaching steadily. Bruder broke out in a cold sweat. Her hold on her blaster tightened to a death grip. What could she do? She couldn't run; they'd see her. She couldn't shoot; even if she coordinated with Felam and they took down all four, the others on the network would notice and sound the alarm. All she could do was freeze and hope it missed her.

            The Swatbot's footsteps came closer… closer… maddeningly closer!

            And then she heard squeaking and the pitter-patter of tiny feet. She heard the Swatbot fire its blaster; in this quiet, it was like a notice that the apocalypse had come. Then a smell of roasted flesh and ozone worked into Bruder's nose.

            She heard the Swatbot report. "Subject-only-non-sentient-rodent. Subject-terminated. No-problems-to-report."

            And the footsteps went away.

            Bruder finally exhaled. That was TOO close!

            She looked at Felam. He made a gesture, drawing his paw around across his brow. Bruder smiled. That gesture wasn't an official Cabal signal.

            "Are we agreed, Major?"

            Bolov looked at her, then nodded his head. "All right. How long until the countdown?"

            "Look," she said. "Here comes the patrol. Not long now."

            The hover unit floated down the street, meeting the guard bots. Then, slowly, it turned. The second it started moving away, Bolov punched the master timer. Every team's timer began counting down from fifteen minutes.

            Sally whispered, "I'll go now to get into position."

            "What?" asked Bolov, turning to her.

            "I'll go now. Good luck!"

            He snorted at her back. "I never rely on luck." He softly kissed his blaster and took aim.

            The timer ticked down. Forty-five seconds. Thirty. Twenty. Ten…

            Sally looked up from her wrist. She started running.

            5… 4… 3… 2…

            Sally launched herself out the window of the shop!

            This building, like almost all on Mobius, had multiple stories. Sally flung herself from the second.

            1…

            The Swatbots didn't see her. Yet.

            0.

            Sally hit the bots like a thunderbolt, leveling one with a flying kick. Behind her, a bot went down, its head a mass of fried circuits.

            +1…

            She swept the feet out from under a second bot, then brought her heel down on its "eye".

            A second shot from Bolov destroyed the final standing Swatbot.

            +2.

            We did it! Sally thought triumphantly.

            Four Swatbots in two seconds. Success!

            Bolov ran to join her, grabbing at his communicator.

            Sally opened Nicole. "Nicole, door, please."

            "All teams, report in. Were you successful?"

            "Working, Sally."

            "Team two, targets down."

            "How long, Nicole?"

            "Team three, bots bagged."

            "A few more seconds, Sally."

            "Team four, targets blown."

            "Team five, enemies destroyed."

            There was a loud click.

            "All doors unlocked, Sally."

            "Got it." She looked to Bolov. "Roger, all teams, move in. Proceed with phase two."

            Five groups of animals penetrated into Robotnik's research lab.

            Pieces of a wrecked Swatbot scattered and bounced down the alley, a testament to Sonic's rage.

            Sonic hoped he hadn't set off any alarms. "This isn't my favorite way to get things done," he said to himself, "but I'd hate for them to start the party 'fore I'm ready to crash it!"

            He took off down the street. "I don't know if I made it in time, though," he thought. "I took way past too long to find this place. Planning first mighta helped. I sure wish Sal were here. And I don't even know what I'm looking for! Ah, forget it. I'll know it when I see it."

            Another Swatbot turned the corner in front of Sonic. Sonic hit it like a sledgehammer, caving in its torso. "Now this is taking too long! Not cool! Gotta find this place… and fast!"

            Sally and Bolov were on the ground floor of the lab, looking for the place to put their demolition charges. Once more, Sally whispered to Nicole, "Nicole, are any bots detected in the area?"

            Once more, Nicole replied, "Negative, Sally."

            Odd, she thought. Not a single positive yet. No, more than odd. Suspicious. Not like Robotnik.

            At that moment, Sally heard a very quiet hissing noise.

            She didn't know what it was, or where it came from. But she didn't like it one bit.

            Bolov dashed down a corridor, and Sally was supposed to have followed, but she didn't. "Nicole, isolate that hissing sound. What is it?"

            "Numerous possibilities exist, Sally."

            "Best guess, Nicole."

            "Gas under high pressure, escaping from a container."

            Sally was on full alert now. Something had to be wrong.

            Why didn't Bolov hear it?

            Then it hit her: Bolov probably couldn't hear it!

            That explosion that gave him his scars was so close, it had probably wrecked his hearing, too! So Bolov wouldn't hear anything this quiet.

            Sally had to determine what this was. She turned to Nicole. "What direction is that hissing coming from?"

            Nicole gave a holographic pointer arrow in directly the opposite direction from Bolov.

            Sally made her choice.

            "Nicole, keep this arrow current. Also keep me updated on any change in the gas content in the atmosphere."

            "Yes, Sally."

            Sally set out. At once, she could hear Bolov's quiet bellow of anger, but she didn't have the time. She chased Nicole's arrow further and further, until she came to a whole room of gas containers. Now that she was close enough, she knew that the hiss was coming directly from at least one of the containers.

            "Nicole?"

            "The content of the atmosphere now has a higher percentage of methane."

            An icy feeling seized Sally's gut.

            Methane! Natural gas! This must be…

            Trap! Trap! Trap trap TRAP!

            Sally grabbed her communicator. "All units: abort mission. Repeat: abort mission. It's a trap!"

            "Belay that order!" shouted Bolov as he barged into the room. His blaster was pointed at Sally. 

            Sally was genuinely afraid. For she knew that Bolov wanted to kill her now. He was thinking that his worst-case scenario was correct: that Sally was a traitor.

            But if he acted, everyone was dead.

            She couldn't let that happen.

            "Bolov, it's a trap!"

            "Don't speak!" he growled, his blaster rising higher.

            "Bolov, listen to me! As we sit here, these containers are dumping methane into the air in this building!"

            The blaster faltered, just a little. "Bolov! Reason with me! If you fire, your blaster will ignite the methane—and everyone inside is dead!"

            Nicole took the initiative. "Methane as a percentage of overall air in this facility is rising."

            Sally stared as hard as she could into Bolov's eyes, trying to influence the war inside his head. She knew that, once again, his hate for her was interfering with all his faculties—she had to hope his reason would win out.

            At that moment, however, the lights went out.

            In seconds, the only lights in their room came from Nicole. They heard the sounds of machinery grinding to a halt: the building's ventilation system was shutting down. Then, monitors all around the lab building flickered to life. The image on them was unmistakable.

            "Welcome, my dear friends."

            Ten voices said the same thing at the same instant.

            "Robotnik!"

            "I'm sure you've discovered my little game now, rodents," Robotnik purred. "After all, with the princess helping you, you'll have discovered my methane tubes by now. Interesting, isn't it? I'm sure you're all fairly dying to know how I set my trap up."

            "It's prerecorded," Sally said on top of the message. "Bolov, we have to find a way to escape."

            "I saw the princess escaping my port facility. When the message reached me in Robotropolis, I knew that the security of kite reller was gone. I was disappointed, but rather than let the kite reller go to waste, I decided to use it as bait."

            "Bolov?" Sally tried to get Bolov to respond, but he just couldn't. "Fine then," she said angrily. Getting snared in Robotnik's trap was bad, but unless someone could take command, it was hopeless. She spoke into her communicator again. "All units, this is Sally. Meet me in…" she gave the coordinates of a room near the center of the lab. "We'll find a way out of this yet."

            One of the animals came back, "What's wrong with the Major? Why'd he belay your order? We can't follow you if he says not to."

            She looked up into Bolov's glazed-over eyes. "The Major isn't going anywhere," she said. "I may not have any rank in your army, but someone's got to save our pelts."

            A pause, and then affirmations reached Sally's ears. Sally reached to Bolov and grabbed one massive paw. "Come along, Major," she said, leading him forward. He followed, not really capable of doing anything else.

            "The kite reller is really here, of course. It had to be to properly attract you long-lost renegades. Without a real threat, there can be no trap. And of course, this is one of my more delicious traps.

            "It's simple, really. This building is sealed off, completely. I have Swatbots ringing the building, just in case. The ventilation is shut down, so you'll suffocate, given time. And as the building floods with methane, it's impossible to get out. If you try, the methane touches off—I'd dearly like to see that!

            "So, in the end, your pitiful rebellion will end. And that will be that. I really wished to Roboticise you, princess, but having you dead is quite enough."

            The image closed down. "Don't bet on it, Robotnik," Sally growled at the blank screen. "I didn't come here to die."

            Leading Bolov, she continued down the hall towards the lab's middle, ideas swirling in her head. She would wriggle out of this—somehow!

            Even the wail of sirens couldn't drown out the noise Sonic focused on: one of Robotnik's freighters readying for launch. So much for no one noticing, he thought. Time to get this over with! Dodging blaster shots left and right, Sonic dashed towards the freighter.

            How the heck am I gonna take it out? He thought. With all these Swatbutts on my tail… NO! He saw the freighter start to lift off. One shot, he thought. He reached into his backpack.

            Sonic was amazed once more. Power Rings usually didn't last several days. As he lifted it high, he knew it was almost drained—but at that point, he'd take any boost he could get.

            The uplifting, surging power flooded his body, and with a Sonic boom he blasted towards the freighter. Hover units sucked in by his vacuum crashed and smashed behind him. Almost blinded by the speed, Sonic could see the freighter loosing its cables. Sonic had to jerk twice to avoid more blaster shots and crashed through a few more Swatbots. Almost there! He thought.

            Then the freighter rose straight up. "No way!" Sonic screamed. He lifted his arm once more, but the Power Ring was spent. Sonic was furious. He spun a few Swatbots to pieces before chasing the freighter.

            It was only flying at about fifty meters, but that was more than forty meters too high for Sonic. From underneath it, he could nicely see the tubes that would soon pump out the kite reller.

            Sonic's thoughts raced faster than he ever could. Unless he did something drastic, that freighter would dump its cargo. The kite reller would work its way up to the Great Forest and poison the trees. With the forest gone, Knothole would stand naked—until the Swatbots arrived, leaving nothing standing.

            But what could he do? The land was flat; the trees were tiny. His Sonic Tornado couldn't get enough power to hurt a freighter that size. How could he get up to the freighter?

            He couldn't think of anything. He simply ran with it, desperate.

            "Explain the situation, Nicole," Sally commanded.

            Sally glanced around at the faces of the soldiers. She found them almost impossible to read. They all seemed simply… ready, for whatever she said.

            Did the Cabal instill that? She wondered. As Bruder said, they'd created an environment where trust in the soldiers was close to absolute—was that the same with their leaders?

            Sally suppressed her inner wondering as Nicole began. Sally and Nicole had rehearsed this presentation for the soldiers. Nicole's voice accompanied holographic images. "Robotnik has trapped us in this building." Nicole showed an exterior view, with Swatbot outlines all around. "No doubt many Swatbots ring the perimeter. However, even getting out will prove challenging." The computer replaced the image with a schematic of the building. Several areas—obviously vent lines—were marked over with red. "Without ventilation, we should expect carbon dioxide levels to rise sharply, and for oxygen levels to decrease sharply, resulting in death for everyone inside. Additionally, Robotnik has released several tons of methane into the air and sealed off the upper levels of this building. This severely limits our options for getting out." The holograms turned off. "We should talk as little as possible, the exception being myself. We should also plan a diversion of some sort to disguise our eventual plan of escape."

            "Which we need to make now," Sally finished. "Any suggestions?"

            One of the Cabal soldiers stepped forwards. "Sally, our line of organization is quite clear. It begins with Major Bolov."

            Sally glanced over at the Major. He looked back at her. Though his stupor was gone, his eyes told Sally all she needed to know. "The Major is indisposed right now," she whispered.

            The soldier shrugged. "Then the chain of command continues. I'm afraid you're not part of that chain."

            "He's right," said Sergeant Agnew. "As of now, I'm the acting commander of this detachment." There was a pause as all considered the implications. Sally stood most tense of all—their situation was desperate enough as it was! Then the sergeant bowed his head. "Soldiers, I hereby order you to obey any command given to you by Sally. You are responsible to her, and then to me. Understood?" There were murmurs and nods.

            Sally gave a silent, interior sigh of relief. Good thing we got that out of the way, she thought. That was close! "Okay," she said, "does anyone have an idea to get out?"

            Felam spoke up. "Sally, if I may?"

            "Yes?"

            "Can your computer punch up a display of the door assembly?"

            "Nicole?"

            Nicole didn't even need the instruction repeated. The hologram was almost instantly floating before Felam. It was a typical door for a Robotropolis installation. It came top down, secured at the bottom by locks; the mechanism for lifting and lowering lay hidden in the doorway.

            "Robotnik's cut the electricity," he explained. "So the magnetic fields to hold the door in place are off. The clamps at the bottom are also off. All that's holding the door in are some thick metal poles at the bottom."

            "Great. Do we have a way to get through those?"

            In response, several Cabal soldiers dug through their backpacks. The fastest exultantly lifted a sort of saw blade to show to Sally.

            Sally didn't ask why the soldiers were carrying saws; by now she recognized the Cabal as the Land of Contingencies. "Nicole, how long, estimated, would it take for us to saw through those metal poles?"

            Nicole flashed a number on her screen, so only Sally could see it. With reason! she thought. The number nearly took Sally's breath away—barely less time than it would take to run out of air!

            She stuffed her reaction and faced the Cabal soldiers. "It's the best shot I've heard. Anything else?"

            Felam shook his head. "Once we've gotten those cut, we'll be able to break down the door with little trouble."

            Sally nodded, then pointed at three of the soldiers. "You three, we're going to work on a diversion plan. Everyone else, get moving."

            Sonic still had no idea how he was going to stop the freighter—and each second they traveled into the desert was a second closer to the dump-off location.

            Sonic wanted to destroy something out of frustration. That ship could end his life as he knew it, and he couldn't do anything to stop it!

            Out in the distance, he saw two hover units approaching. Great, he thought, more things to worry about! But the hover units began a climb, reaching an altitude higher than the freighter. Then they dove towards it. Their heavy blasters started firing.

            Sonic winced, but the shots never came near him. He looked up just in time to see the front of the freighter burst into flame.

            The freighter dropped like a stone. Sonic realized this only seconds before impact! He turned ninety degrees and ran out from under it. When it hit the ground, it exploded.

            Sonic was still close by. The force of the explosion hit him from behind. He flew off of his feet, propelled by the blast. When he landed, it was with enough force to black him out.

            Time sped by for Sally, the hours melding together in a heap of confusion and hot air. She wiped the sweat from her brow. She could only imagine how hot it was for the animals underneath the door assembly!

            She shook her head to try and clear the fatigue out of them. So much carbon dioxide, she thought. That was the last thing she needed—falling asleep would mean certain death, and soon.

            We've gotta get out! she thought. It gets worse every minute.

            Her communicator beeped. Agnew's voice came over, though Sally could barely recognize it. It seemed utterly strained, as though speaking was something his body couldn't stand. Sally understood that, at least; talking took more air. "Reporting in. We've sawed through one of the door locks."

            "Good work! Go and help the others. Get through that as soon as possible."

            "Yes, ma'am." Another beep signaled the communication's end.

            Time blurred together again for Sally. She made sure the diversions were in place, then went down and checked on the sawing.

            The only way to get to the locking mechanism was to go through very small access tunnels. Since they were designed for techbots, not for animals, Sally had to crawl on all fours to get there. How humiliating, she thought.

            The maintenance room was large enough to hold all the animals safely. When she got there, the air was unbearably hot and heavy. It came to no surprise to Sally that some of the animals working were going slowly. However, if they were to survive, they had to move faster. Sally volunteered herself to take a turn at the sawing; her muscles were fresh, at least in comparison.

            It was stupefying work. Back, forth, back forth… the motions of the blade, and the drowsiness the air lent, combined to hypnotize Sally. Back, forth, back, forth…

            Time ceased to have any meaning. All that Sally could think about was the movement of the blade. She vaguely recognized the air growing steadily hotter. She also vaguely recognized the blisters forming on her paws. But in the end, that was irrelevant. All that mattered was back, forth, back, forth, back, forth…

            With a shock that sent her tumbling, the blade snapped the last piece of metal in its way.

            Sally shrugged off her weariness and sprang up. "Alright! How many left?"

            Agnew brought himself to answer, "One more." Then he heard another person fall, looked back, and corrected himself. "That's the last one."

            As Agnew helped up the fallen animal, Sally addressed everyone. "Come on, let's get back up. We're almost out!" She spotted one animal that had succumbed to sleep. "Someone help me carry him, and let's get out of here!"

            Robotnik shifted uneasily in his seat. As much as he was savoring his genius, as manifested in the deathtrap before him, he couldn't help but feel uneasy. He knew that the princess would never go down without a fight. But there'd been virtually no evidence that the building before him was occupied.

            It isn't as much fun, he reflected, if your prey doesn't show how helpless it is.

            Swatbots reported in. "Sir, noises-reported-at-south-and-southeast-exits. Noise-pattern-consistent-with-attempted-penetration-of-vent-seals."

            Of course, Robotnik thought. Try and get more air, to give yourself more time. But I'm through waiting. It's time to end this game!

            "Swatbot units three and four, redeploy to the south. Units five and six, redeploy to the southeast. Other units spread out to account for the difference. If those vents open up, fire into them!"

            Robotnik sat back, now more satisfied. "That will cook them until they're black!"

            A few minutes later, Swatbots reported again. "Penetration-noises-have-become-more-quiet. Now-noises-have-ceased."

            Robotnik nodded. "A last effort, perhaps? Oh, well. In any event, they have to be low on oxygen. Soon enough, they'll be dead."

            All ten animals were now outside the northwest exit. Sally spoke one last time. "There'll be Swatbots outside. You'll have to wait about five seconds to shoot. We've…" she shook her head again. "We've gotta get away from this methane. Once we're out, we're heading for the sewer." She looked around. Two were now asleep, but all the rest were ready to get out of there! Even as she watched, the Cabal soldiers woke their sleepy comrades and helped them to their feet.

            All right then. It was time! "Major, if you will?"

            Sally had expected Bolov to already be unconscious, but the big bear once more amazed her. Without a word, he lumbered into position facing the door and dropped to all fours. "GO!" Sally shouted.

            Bolov took a running start. For a creature of his bulk, his speed was astonishing. Sally fancied she felt the ground tremble each time his paws hit the ground. Power radiated from his charge, and Sally braced for the impact…

            Bolov slammed his entire body weight into the door. The door's frame might as well have been made from construction paper; it practically evaporated before the force of the hit. The door slammed down, sending dust flying everywhere. Bolov continued his lope, though much slower, and ran for the Swatbots.

             The sudden change in pressure practically blew the soldiers out of the building. They all quickly adjusted as they put some distance from the methane. Almost instantly they came under fire, but all were clear of the lab by then. By some miracle, the Swatbot blasters avoided touching off the methane, though two of the Cabal soldiers took hits. Quickly, the soldiers shot back, finishing the nearest Swatbots in short order.

            Everyone dashed forwards, trailing behind Bolov. The uninjured soldiers helped along or carried the wounded. The Major came to the sewer opening they'd been aiming for. Applying his full strength, he wrenched it open effortlessly.

            A few more Swatbots approached from nearby. The Cabal soldiers covered themselves well, though a few more took hits. Their accurate fire destroyed several Swatbots and forced the rest back, giving the soldiers all the time they needed.

            The soldiers dropped into the sewer, up to their boots' ankles in muck of every description. Again, the wounded were more carefully transported. But as soon as everyone was accounted for, the dash began.

            "NO!" Robotnik roared fruitlessly at his screen. He watched, impotent, as the last soldier dropped down into the sewer. Swatbots didn't have a chance in there; ambushes were way too easy, they couldn't be sure of the footing, and they would be heard coming. "How could… Sewer control! Divert as much water as possible into the pipe they just went down! I don't care how you do it, just do it! Flush those rebels out!"

            The squad rushed through the sewer. Sally was in the lead, guiding them with Nicole's maps. The tunnel was big enough for Bolov, so, after the access tunnels below the lab, it was positively roomy.

            "One last thing to do," Sally called back as everyone kept on. "Bolov, if you will do the honors?"

            Bolov didn't respond verbally. Sally couldn't see it well, but she knew what he was doing. He reached into a pocket, withdrew the detonator for their bombs, and pressed the switch.

            The boom reached them through the ground. Sally exulted, "Kiss kite reller goodbye!" She was greeted by exhausted, but universal, cheering. Then, of course, it was back to the business of running like mad.

            A sound grew as Sally and her companions continued. It was the sound of long-dormant machinery creaking to life. As she rounded a curve, she saw a door closing before them.

            She turned to give an order, but the soldiers had realized the danger. Half a dozen blaster shots hit the top of the tunnel, fouling up the mechanism. But a more sinister thought occurred to Sally. "Everyone, get under, quickly!" She clipped Nicole to her boot and led the way.

            They were on the other side and running when they heard the approaching waters. Sally cried out in dismay. Where did this tunnel lead them? She knew that it led to a "rendezvous point", but that could mean anything.

            She glanced backwards. Even in the dim lighting of the soldiers' flashlights, the rapidly approaching water was easy to make out. Well, she thought, I'm about to find out…

            Whump!

            Sally's world swirled and tumbled, splashed and splattered. She lost all sense of direction. Even her ability to tell up from down vanished. She was head over paws. All she knew for certain was that her lungs burned for lack of air.

            All the soldiers were swept away by the raging waters. It was lucky that they'd moved so far so quickly, because they spent a minimum of time underwater before coming to the end of the pipe.

            Sudden daylight blinded Sally. Then her stomach tumbled as she recognized the sensations of falling.

            I'm falling to my death, she thought. What a stupid way to die!

            But there was nothing she could do to stop it.

            Her life flashed before her eyes. Why could I escape from Robotnik's deathtrap, only to die in a stupid waterfall?

            And then she hit the net.

            The net sank a little beneath her, then started sinking and falling in every direction as the remainder of the squad landed about her. One of them actually landed on top of her, but she handled that in no time.

            As her vision cleared, she saw the situation. Even though there was still water falling on her, she could clearly see everyone else lying about her in the net in various stages of drowning. Several were coughing savagely, but the rest seemed merely dazed.

            Bolov, predictably, was the first to react. Sally saw him reach into a pocket and retrieve a control pad. With the press of a button, the net started moving down.

            Clever, Sally thought. This must happen a lot. Looking around, she clearly saw the simple construct. A net built beneath the pipe, close enough to catch them, but not far enough below to be dangerous. The net could move higher or lower, and Bolov was lowering the net to ground level.

            "Thank you, Bolov," she called. Then she heard a blaster shot. Turning, she saw a Stealth Orb tumble from the sky. Bruder lowered her weapon. "They know we're here, Sally," she said.

            "Right," Sally answered. "Everyone, move out as soon as possible. It's gonna be a race, so let's move!"

            Everyone was awake, if groggy, and the arrangements for the wounded were easy, since most of them could still run. Bolov carried one on his massive shoulders, and two soldiers hauled a third between them. Bolov, the surest-footed even with his load, led the way. The unwounded, including Bruder, Agnew, and Felam, brought up the rear.

            The pace was grueling. Even knowing that hover units were on their way was just enough to convince Sally to keep on. Still, she thought, we've made it this far, might as well finish it!

            They were almost to the good cover of the forest when they heard hover units. The first spray of heavy blaster shots only threw up smoke and dirt, but everyone knew that even Swatbots' aim would be good over time.

            "Rearguard, stand and fight!" Sally shouted. Bruder, Felam, and Agnew skidded to halts and turned on the hover units. As they passed overhead, the rearguard unleashed a sustained burst of firepower. Overwhelmed, one of the units went down, though thankfully far from everyone else.

            The other three hover units went into evasive maneuvers and split up. The rearguard knew they'd be back soon, so they turned and ran towards the forest. They'd almost made it when the hover units struck again. This time, a blaster shot blew through Felam's leg.

            Once more, the hover units vanished after their strafing run. The rearguard knew the Cabal's policy: if it endangers many to save the one, then you may have to leave the one. Agnew followed the rest of the squad, but Bruder turned and went back to Felam.

            Felam had rolled over onto his tail and was sitting, ready to shoot his last at any hover unit that approached. Bruder approached and knelt next to him.

            "Aren't you supposed to be somewhere?" Felam asked.

            "I'm there," Bruder retorted.

            "The needs of the many, Bruder!"

            "We've been partners since our entry. That might not mean anything to you, but to me, we're still a team. I'll stand by you."

            Felam fired a few shots as the hover unit passed overhead, readying for another strafing run. He mostly missed, but between him and Bruder they succeeded in damaging another unit. "Why, Corporal, I never judged you as the romantic type."

            "Don't think it's out of any personal charm on your part," Bruder said, not really serious.

            "Well, team we are, until the end," Felam said, watching the hover units begin their run.

            "Bruder!" She turned to see Sally running back to them. "No need to be martyrs yet! Help me carry him!"

            Felam and Bruder shared a glance, and their thoughts were identical. Agnew had said to follow all her orders. In that case, then, they would. Bruder tossed aside her blaster and grabbed Felam's boots. Sally grabbed him beneath the shoulders. Felam tried to cover them by taking wild shots with his blaster back at the units.

            They made the trees just as the hover units opened fire. When the dust cleared, there was no trace of the furries—not even bodies.

            They'd escaped.

Chapter Six: In the Final Analysis

            Water splashed over Sonic's face. He bolted upright, sleep evaporating. After a sigh, he shook his head to fling the water off and tried to get his bearings. His sledgehammer headache didn't help matters. However, he could clearly see he was in the tent of a nomad.

            A paw and a canteen entered his vision. Sonic only now realized how parched he was. He greedily grabbed the canteen. The water practically flew down his aching throat. He slugged down the whole thing in one breath.

            Now slightly more awake and a bit more relaxed, Sonic looked around. Of course, the paw that had given him the canteen belonged to Sandy. She sat patiently in the corner.

            Sonic sighed. "Why'dja come after me?"

            "You're welcome."

            "Yeah, okay. Thanks for coming. You were way past cool. You took out the freighter when I couldn't do squat, then dragged me outta danger. Too cool." He looked up at her. "So why'dja come after me?"

            Her expression softened. "A few reasons. The biggest is that it needed to be done. You were right in this way: without your friends interfering in the Great Forest, Robotnik will come after us sooner or later. We don't want that to happen."

            "And you wanted to prove me wrong. Don't give me that," he said as he saw her reaction. "I know you came because you wanted to show me that, just 'cause you… eat…" he mumbled something, "doesn't mean you're not okay animals." 

            "That could have been a reason," Sandy grudgingly conceded.

            Sonic's head drooped. "I guess I was a real jerk back there," he said.

            There was silence for several seconds. Sandy felt no need to rub in what Sonic already knew. Sonic finally said, "Well, I guess there's just one more thing to do." He rose.

            Sandy followed. "Yes. Rashid's been waiting for you. We're ready for you to help us with that one more thing."

            Together, they emerged from the tent. Sonic wanted to say something, but just couldn't get it out. Finally he blurted, "Sandy… have you ever… eaten…"

            She nodded. "Yes, Sonic. Of course I have. My mother did, too, when she was alive."

            Sonic shook his head. "I just can't… how didja manage to live out here?"

            "It's the only life I've known for years, Sonic. This is the way of things out here. This isn't Knothole; these animals aren't Sally or Bunnie or Antoine. Our life isn't like yours. And your war isn't ours. Yet."

            Sonic scoffed. "Why not? Robuttnik's a problem for everyone!"

            "There are other considerations," Sandy snarled right back. "Rashid is the absolute ruler of this community. He has only one duty: keep the community alive. He's chosen to do that by keeping his distance from Robotnik. We have enough trouble eking out a living out here without worrying about Robotnik. And there are thirty more animals back in our main camp that we protect with the weapons we get. We have to worry about them, too."

            There was nothing Sonic could say to respond to that. As they continued walking, Sonic spoke again. "Sandy… come back to Knothole."

            She shook her head sadly. "I can't, Sonic. These are my people. This is my home. It didn't accept me easily… they don't see the world the same way that you do in Knothole. But in the end, they're just animals. And I'm one of them." She looked at him. "Is that so hard for you to understand?"

            "I guess not."

            "My home is here. Sally's home is Robotropolis. After all this time, we're nothing like each other. Our homes are far away. This is Sally's crusade, not mine. Return to your Sally, Sonic. She's the reason you fight."

            Sonic started in irritation. "Hey, wait a minute! I'm fighting for my home, too!"

            Sandy gave him a questioning look. Sonic stood it for a few seconds, and then his face fell again. "Guess you're right."

            "We'll take care of your friends, Sonic. We'll keep them safe as we can. But first, we have one more thing to do." Sonic nodded. "And remember what I said. This isn't our war. Yet."

            Sonic repeated it like a prayer. "Yet."

            Bruder walked towards one of the vacant rooms in the complex—vacant, that is, except for Sally. The Colonel had assigned the room to Sally as temporary quarters while his inquiry wrapped up. Today was the day: the inquiry was complete. Sally was needed to stand before the entire community to receive her fate.

            Bruder walked into the room. Sally was sitting on a stool, apparently letting her mind wander. Sally looked tired, worn… a strange look for her, thought Bruder. Sally started at Bruder's entrance. Bruder saw Sally about to say something, but it died on her lips. "What?" asked Bruder.

            "From where I come from, you always knock before entering."

            Bruder shrugged it off, but paused for a moment before delivering her message.

            "How's Felam?" Sally said, breaking the silence.

            "Recovering nicely, princess. With luck, he may one day walk again."

            Sally frowned. "Why are you calling me princess?"

            "Aren't you one?"

            "Well, yes, it's just odd. Since when did that mean anything?"

            "It's meant something since the raid."

            Bruder saw Sally working that out in her mind. "I guess so," she said eventually. "Does he blame me?"

            "Felam? For what?"

            "Nothing," Sally said. "I guess… he doesn't think I'm responsible for getting his leg shot?"

            "Not unless you were piloting one of those hover units."

            "Okay," Sally said. She focused on Bruder. "So, why'd you come down here?"

            "It's time, princess."

            Sally nodded. Then, before Bruder's astonished eyes, Sally seemed to be reborn. Sally got off of the stool but seemingly rose in height. Without any effort Bruder could see, Sally gathered qualities of strength, dignity, and… regality was the best word Bruder could find. In spare seconds, Sally transformed from tired soldier to radiant royalty.

            "Let's go," she said.

            A dumbfounded Bruder led the way.

            The strike came with no warning at all.

            The first indication of attack was the demolition of the entrance to Hawson's complex. Nomads dropped into the complex and sped down the halls. They flew through the complex like demons, seizing weapons and suppressing resistance.

            Sonic dropped in with Sandy and tore down the hall. After a quick stop to empty the armory, Sonic took Sandy directly to Hawson's chamber.

            A Sonic spin blew down the door. Hawson was just coming out of the bathroom when he found himself face to face with Sandy. He didn't even have time to register surprise before he was unconscious. As soon as Sandy had secured Hawson, Sonic took the two of them back out of the complex. The nomads disabled the addicts' hover units before vacating the complex as well.

            The whole raid took around five minutes.

            The largest room in the Cabal hideaway was the main mess hall. Built to accommodate even more animals than lived in the place, the mess hall was the gathering spot for the announcement of the end of the inquiry.

            Almost the entire population turned out for the event—either out of herd instinct, or the realization that this decision could affect them all. They filled two thirds of the room. In front, there was an open space, and then the Cabal soldiers stood in line. When the time would come, the Colonel would stand behind them on a podium, and Sally would stand facing them.

            When decisions were rendered in Cabal courts martial, most of the offender's unit were turned out to face him. Although some critics found this unsettling and intimidating, it reinforced one of the Cabal's messages. An offender had to face the scorn and disapproval of his entire unit if convicted. The message was clear: the actions of one can affect many.

            Although Sally was not technically part of the Cabal unit, they'd all turned out anyway. In closed or tiny communities, oftentimes soldiers would all come to an inquiry no matter who was involved. This was especially true in decisions as important as this one.

            Bruder entered and joined her comrades in line. She stood next to Felam, who supported himself on crutches. Those soldiers too badly hurt to attend were represented by computer monitors, through which they saw and were seen. Normally, Major Bolov would have said certain lines at this point, but he had refused to do such. He had been refusing all the duties of his rank. So, instead, the next highest ranking soldier, a captain Sally didn't know well, called out Bolov's lines.

            "This session is now begun. All quiet so that we may hear what will transpire. The defendant will now enter."

            Sally knew that was her cue. She strode into the room, regality wrapped around her like a cloak. She'd acquired an old dress, and though it was simple and didn't fit quite right, Sally wore it well enough to make an impact. Besides, it was a huge change from her usual attire, so she knew that would have an effect as well.

            Once she'd advanced to the open area between the civilians and the soldiers, she stopped. Agnew called again, "The presiding officer will now enter."

            At that, the Colonel entered the room. As opposed to Sally's procession, however, most did not notice how he went to his place. Many didn't know he'd come in until he stood on the podium.

            The Colonel didn't care, Sally knew. He just knew he had a job to do. But what he would say Sally couldn't guess.

            The Colonel turned on his microphone. After looking down for a few seconds, he addressed the crowd. "The purpose of this inquiry has been to investigate this question: what should be done with Princess Sally, a prisoner of this unit?

            "In times of war, there are guidelines for a unit to follow when it has captured a prisoner. It is the findings of this inquiry that, in this case, the guidelines can not be applied.

            "War is the process by which one government attempts to impose its will on another. But the government of the Northern Cabal does not exist. This has been the case for twelve years. In that case, the war has been over for twelve years.

            "Therefor, the military unit which I represent is an independent unit, free to exercise its will as it pleases."

            There was a pause as he breathed deep. He was obviously steeling himself to read the next part. Already, he'd broken from what the animals there had taken as truth—that they were simply fighting Robotnik while awaiting the return of the Cabal. By pronouncing the Cabal gone, he'd changed everything and rendered meaningless the social order they'd maintained. So the animals now thought themselves ready for anything he would say.

            In reality, they weren't. No one expected that the Colonel would step down from his podium and walk forwards until he stood before Sally. Yet this happened.

            Then, while less than a meter from Sally, the Colonel fell to his knees. He extended his arms out, then lifted his chin fully to expose his neck. Sally struggled to maintain her composure. This was an instinctive, animal gesture, a posture of…

            "I, Colonel I. H. Ressa, hereby surrender myself and my command to Princess Sally Acorn!"

            Hawson came to only when kicked by a nomad. He whirled to his feet, baring his teeth at everyone around him. All the nomads that had made the trip circled around him. Sonic stood next to Sandy.

            Hawson knew he was cornered. He started cursing, hurling obscenities at the nomads. He twirled around, looking for an opening. Failing to find one, he focused on Sonic instead. "You! You spraint-eating son of a whore! I'm gonna…" He ran at Sonic at full speed.

            Sonic didn't even have to move. Sandy couldn't resist an opportunity to beat on Hawson. A single kick laid Hawson on his tail a few steps away from Sonic. Hawson tried again. This time Sandy threw him back towards the middle of the ring.

            Hawson struggled to get up just as he struggled to regain his breath. Even as he staggered to his feet, the nomads turned their backs on him. It was a symbolic thing: for them, the worst imaginable fate is a meaningless death. If no one pays attention to your death or cares about it, it's meaningless, as was your life.

            "You… you… I'll make you…" Hawson tried to get up but found himself in a shadow. He turned to find Rashid towering over him.

            Hawson's jaw dropped in terror. He tried scramble away, but Rashid caught him easily. With one paw he turned Hawson around and lifted him off the ground. "You betrayed us," Rashid growled, "and your treachery caused the death of one of my animals. Your death ensures that this will never happen again."

            Hawson cried out in pain as Rashid's claws continued to dig in to his shoulder. "Aagh! Help! Help me! Sonic! Sonic, I'm sorry… hey, I'll help you aagh!" Rashid tightened his grip.

            Sonic looked back at Hawson over his shoulder. Hawson struggled more and called out to Sonic a final time. "Sonic! Help me! Please!"

            Sonic's lip curled in disgust. "Not a chance!" He turned completely away from Hawson and closed his ears to any further cries.

            As Rashid raised his other paw, claws extended for a killing blow, Hawson couldn't help but stare. His eyes widened as only those who see death can. He was in total terror. Even his vocal cords couldn't do anything.

            Rashid stood poised for several seconds. He wanted Hawson to fully appreciate the power of death. Each of the lion's claws was death, and all were eager to exercise their station. Rashid stretched that moment out, time itself obeying his will to punish Hawson. Then, his paw fell.

            The splashing of blood onto the sand was the only noise.

            Although it seemed unnatural in this case, the will to follow orders was strong in the Cabal soldiers. Sally watched as, one by one, the soldiers of the former Cabal knelt and similarly exposed their throats. Though he looked like he might cry, even Bolov did the same.

            It was very embarrassing for Sally. As she looked at the soldiers, she could only wonder. The youngest of them were twice her age! The oldest, the Colonel, was almost three times her age. They'd seen more combat, more death and destruction, than all the animals in Knothole combined.

            Sally hardly felt worthy to be knelt to. A princess without a Kingdom, a stranger in a strange land, with no authority whatsoever, and yet here was an entire community surrendering to her!

            She composed herself, then said back to him,

            "I cannot accept your surrender."

            In shock, the Colonel all but collapsed. All the soldiers stared at her in shock; the civilians exploded into chatter.

            It was several seconds before silence returned. The Colonel said what they were all thinking: "Why not?"

            "I don't have the authority to do so. The Kingdom has no diplomatic relations with your group. And besides, there is no way for me or any of the animals I can contact to deal with several hundred prisoners." Sally smiled. "However, this is what I can do: I can accept your enlistment into the armed services of the Kingdom of Acorn. Do you wish to enlist?"

            From his expression, Sally could tell this was nothing like what the Colonel expected. Finally, his expression resolved into one that described Sally as a goddess. Sally figured that the Colonel thought of this as the highest generosity he could think of. "Princess Sally, I accept. My unit will join your forces immediately."

            "No," Sally said. "I'm afraid that I can't let you speak for everyone. It's each animal's decision." She walked to the row of soldiers. One by one, she went down the line. One by one, the soldiers expressed their desires to enlist. Finally, Sally got to Major Bolov.

            "Do you wish to enlist?" Sally asked.

            "No," Bolov whispered. "By all that is good on this planet, no."

            Sally nodded. "Very well, then." She turned and returned to face the Colonel. "I appoint you the commander. Work out a hierarchy as soon as you're ready. As for everyone else," she said, speaking to the crowd, "I'll soon send animals to see who wants to change their citizenship. Everyone who signs that list will be a subject of the Kingdom of Acorn."

            She turned to the Colonel. "We must talk. Dismiss the troops." She walked out.

            As soon as she was out the door, she promptly passed out.

            She woke some time later in her temporary room. Feeling dreadfully uncomfortable, she changed out of the dress and back into her boots and vest. She waited around, thinking and using Nicole, for about an hour before the Colonel arrived.

            "Princess," he said, saluting.

            She waved him down. "Don't do that."

            He shifted, put off ease by it, before he reported. "Every single animal has agreed to change citizenship, and all of the soldiers minus Bolov have enlisted."

            Sally marveled at how quickly the Colonel had sped that process along, then laughed. "You know, I don't have any authority to do what I did."

            "What do you mean?"

            "The Kingdom of Acorn doesn't exist any more than the Northern Cabal. How can I enlist you in its army?" She shook her head. "I have no authority over the animals in my own home, let alone you!"

            "Then why do they follow you?"

            "Well, because they want to."

            "And we want to, too."

            "Really?"

            "Yes. Princess, it's been twelve years since I last received an order. I know it sounds odd, but I've missed it. We used to belong to something. We've been on our own for so long that a lot of the things we do don't make sense any more. When you came, we realized that. Do you have any idea how alone that makes you feel?"

            "I think I do," Sally whispered.

            "So we need to belong to something. We choose to follow you. We trust you that much, now. And although you say you don't have the authority, I say that three hundred animals think otherwise."

            "So this'll be my little Kingdom, the one area where my title is relevant, the one place where everything is official?"

            "Something like that. Any monarch rules with the consent of the governed. We consent to your authority. Whether you think you have it or not, we've given it to you. Here, at least, your Kingdom is real."

            Sally laughed. She kept on laughing, laughing for all the days she'd been unable to since she came. She went right on laughing for almost a minute. "Colonel… the irony is hilarious. I mean, the only place the Kingdom is real is in the home of its enemies?" She laughed again.

            The Colonel smiled, her laughter catching him. "Alright, well, I've got work to do. I'll send Bruder by if you need her."

            "That's all right. Colonel, I'm going to take a nap. I may not wake up until winter."

            "Very well, Princess. I'll make sure no one disturbs you."

            "Thank you."

Epilogue: The Storytellers

            Sonic stared out at the endless desert. How sick and tired of it he was! He longed for all the sights, sounds, smells of home.

            Here, the only sights, sounds, and smells were from the nomads.

            They'd left Hawson's corpse long behind them. The nomads were rushing home, trying to get back to their families before the rains caught them in open desert.

            He caught up to Sandy. "Next time we stop, I'm buggin' out."

            She nodded. "Alright, Sonic. We'll miss you." She said no more.

            "That's it?!" he exclaimed. "After all that happened, all I get is a "we'll miss you"?"

            "What would you prefer," she turned, snarling, "a surprise party?"

            Sonic stopped, shocked. He caught up quickly, though. "Sorry. Guess my temper's hot. I've been out here way too long. I wanna go home."

            "We're glad you came, Sonic," Sandy said. "And we'll take care of your friends."

            "You won't make 'em… do anything they don't wanna?"

            Sandy smiled. "Don't worry, we don't know them well enough to let them participate in the Feast of the Dead. Remember, only the animals closest to the dead…"

            "Yeah, okay," Sonic said, desperate to change the subject. "That'll do. Okay, I'm gonna go see 'em, then come back. After that, I'm goin'. Deal?"

            "I understand."

            "Good. See ya in a sec!"

            Sally warily inspected the craft. "Is it safe?"

            "Would we give it to you, Princess, if we thought it wasn't safe?" asked the Colonel.

            "I guess not," Sally answered. "It seems easy to control." The "it" they were referring to was a hover bike. It resembled the ones Swatbots sometimes used, but it was a lot bigger, to accommodate pilots that weren't part of the machine.

            "It is, really. You'll get used to it in no time."

            "Thanks, Colonel. And thanks to everyone," she called out to the soldiers standing nearby. "I'm sorry to have to leave you so soon, but my home is waiting for me. Knothole is calling me. Rest assured, I will come back and see you sometime. Preferably, after we've taken Robotnik down!" The soldiers cheered for many moments before quieting down again.

            "I'm really glad to have met all of you. Bruder, Agnew, Felam, Colonel, I'll remember you all. As I said, I'll be back some day. Count on it!  
            "Goodbye, and thanks for everything. I only have one more thing to say." Everyone waited eagerly. Sally looked at their faces one more time. Yes, these animals were all way older than she—but now, they looked young again.

            "No more narco-interrogations!"

            They laughed her out the door of the complex. And with their good cheer ringing in her ears, Princess Sally Acorn left the Center City base of the Army of the Kingdom of Acorn.

            "So you'll be leaving soon, Sonic?"

            "Definitely, Dirla. And I'm sorry… for everything."

            "For what?" She patted him on the back, carefully avoiding spines. "You got me out of Hawson's grasp and gave me my life back. I've had more fun in the last week than I've had the last eleven years. I'm glad to have known you, Sonic."

            "Really?"

            "Really really."

            "Hey, who am I, minced cabbage?" huffed James. "I've got to thank you, too, Sonic, for all your help. All the reasons she said, they're true. We had to get out of there, and you did it for us."

            Sonic still looked surprised, but took it in stride. "Yeah, I guess this wasn't such a waste of time after all!"

            "Not a chance, Sonic."

            Sonic smiled and sped up. "Thanks for the kudos, guys! I'll see ya around! Stay cool!"

            "Same for you, Sonic!" they shouted as he left their hearing.

            Sonic ran up towards Sandy. Rashid had joined her. "I believe this shall be our last meeting, Sonic?" he asked.

            "Yeah. I've gotta go home. I'll be back someday, though."

            Rashid turned his head away from Sonic. "We are in a difficult position. You had some to do with it, but not all. We have lost our source of blasters. Even if Hawson's community survives the withdrawal they will get soon enough, they will be hostile to us in the future. Robotnik is now fully reminded of our presence. From now on, we are in danger always. Once our blasters drain, we are helpless."

            "How long'll that take?"

            He looked to Sandy. "Maybe a year. Perhaps, with care, more," she said shrugging.

            "I got a better idea," Sonic said. "Help us fight Robotnik!"

            "That is a huge risk," Rashid said distastefully.

            "You said you're already at risk. Look, Robuttnik's after you, right? Go after him right back!"

            "This is not a forest. There is no place to hide."  
            "Then, well, I dunno. Do hit and run with those hover units, whatever! I don't care. But don't just sit back and wait for them to take you! Besides, you'll be able to get new power packs for your blasters."

            "I must think of my animals first," Rashid said.

            "I know that! But hey, what's the biggest threat to you right now?"

            "Robotnik."

            "Bingo. So why not help get rid of him? Listen, Rashid, I know it's mondo dangerous. I do it all the time. But let's face it: Robotnik wants to enslave all of us. We've been workin' our tails off tryin' to take him down. We're close, Rashid, getting closer every time we try. But we can't do it alone. Every animal that hurts Robuttnik is an animal that's savin' everyone."

            Rashid didn't immediately respond. He walked a distance before talking again. "Sonic, I can trace my lineage more than fifty generations. Our group, and the animals at our home, we have lived out here for countless generations. It is something I cannot take risks with.

            "During your Great War, some of the nomad groups tried to aid your Kingdom. In the end, the war ground them into dust. All their bloodlines, all their history—forever lost." He turned to Sonic. "I will not allow this to happen to my animals! I fear no enemy, but there is no way to overcome the risks that combat out here poses. We have nowhere to run except our home, and that is nowhere near Robotnik. We can not hurt him and remain safe. So we will not involve ourselves in this.

            "If Robotnik defeats you, so be it. If, in the end, he destroys us, so be it. But, if you are as close as you claim, then there is no reason for us to die uselessly. 

            "We are very grateful for all your help. We will harbor your friends, Sonic Hedgehog. We have adopted Chani as our own. But we cannot and will not help you fight this war.

            "I do not need for you to like this. All I need from you is to accept this as it is."

            "I guess that's cool, then," said Sonic, though he sounded as if he barely believed his own words. "It's about what's important, I guess. I'll see ya around, Rashid."

            "Good bye, Sonic Hedgehog. And good luck to you."

            "Thanks."

            After receiving directions from Sandy, Sonic headed out. Sandy called out to him, "Good luck, Sonic! Say hi to Bunnie for me! And thanks for everything!"

            "No prob, Sandy. See you later!" With that, he left.

            Just my luck, thought Sally. Just as the evergreens had melted into the full-bodied, long-lived giant trees of the Great Forest, and just as she began to recognize her surroundings, Sally's ride broke down.

            "So, I'm a few days from Knothole. Too bad I don't have Sonic's speed!" She looked down towards her boot. "On the other paw, I do have Nicole." She made a grab. "Nicole, are we within communications distance of Knothole?"

            "Checking… confirming distance from Robotropolis… Affirmative, Sally. Communications with Knothole are available and safe."

            "Send a multiple-bandwidth comm signal to Rotor. Send this message: "It's Sally. I'm at…"" she gave coordinates as Nicole helpfully flashed them. ""Send Dulcy.""

            "Sending message."

            "Great." Sally walked towards Knothole.

            It didn't take long. Soon Dulcy was circling overhead, Rotor riding her. "Sally! We're so glad to see you!" Rotor shouted.

            "Yeah, you only had us scared half to death! Where's Sonic?"

            "So he hasn't come back yet?"

            "Not unless he arrived during the last twenty minutes."

            "Fine. Okay, Dulcy, I am ready to be in Knothole."

            "I'll be down in a second. Find a meadow! I can't land with so many trees!"

            "Dulcy," Rotor chided, "you can hardly land without trees!"

            "Yeah, but I prefer anything to running into trees. Hey, Sally, there's a meadow that ways about two hundred meters. I'll wait for you there!"

            "Sounds fine to me, Dulcy."

            "Yeah," Rotor called as the dragon flew off. "With any luck, she'll be conscious again by then!"

            Sally laughed. She wasn't even in Knothole yet, and she was already feeling great.

            When Sally's vision stopped spinning from Dulcy's attempt at landing, she hopped off the dragon's back with a hearty laugh. "I didn't think I'd miss that so much! Dulcy, you should do that more often."

            "No problem, ma," answered the still-dazed Dulcy.

            "Thanks a lot, Sally," Rotor groaned. Sally laughed again. "I'll make sure she's alright," Rotor said. "You get back to Knothole. I told everybody you'd be coming home, so they'll be waiting for you."

            "Thanks, Rotor. See you soon." She walked towards Knothole. She was so close she was tingling! She was ready for home. Then she heard a very distinctive noise: Sonic's running. "Sonic!" she cried happily. She ran towards the noise.

            She caught Sonic just as he was about to cross the bridge into Knothole. "Sonic!" she shouted.

            "Sal!" he replied they rushed towards each other and started babbling altogether. "You've got no idea what I…"

            "It was incredible! I met…"

            "And Sandy was there…"

            "And I was interrogated…"

            "And nothin' was like I thought…"

            "And they seemed alright at the end…"

            "And I couldn't handle…"

            "But I didn't like…"

            "So then I was…"

            "Too bad that…"

            And somehow, they both shouted at the same time, "And I took out kite reller!"

            Silence reigned. Neither could think of something to say. Suddenly the sounds of the creek flowing were extremely loud. A cricket made some noise, but promptly shut up, embarrassed.

            Someone coughed. Sonic and Sally looked across the bridge and saw the entire village of Knothole gathered on the other side, watching them.

            Sonic and Sally put on embarrassed smiles before Sonic called, "Weee're home!" They held hands as they crossed the bridge to thunderous cheers.

            That night, most of Knothole gathered around a fire to hear the twin tales of Sonic and Sally. Though fires always had some risk of detection involved, it was far less at night—and besides, any hover unit close enough to detect the fire from the heat would be able to detect Knothole anyway. The unfortunates on guard duty would no doubt get the stories from the animals in attendance.

            Sonic and Sally sat next to each other, with all the other animals facing them. Sally began, reciting her story in as much detail as she could manage. She even covered what she could recall of her interrogation experience, choking up only once. As she finished, she said, "I think it's great that we've been able to bury that war. And now we know we have a few more friends." She sat in silence. "Sometimes, we… I… get so wrapped up in this that I forget that other animals are in this too. But we can't do it alone. Thanks to them, I realized that. I also left them a complete copy of the Mobian Book of Law in their databanks. So overall, I think this was a great trip!" The other animals applauded.

            Eventually, everyone fell silent. All eyes went to Sonic. He smirked self-consciously. "Well, I can't tell a story the same way Sal can…"

            "You can when you're braggin'!" called Tails.

            Everyone laughed, even Sonic. "Yeah, little bro, but this isn't that kinda story. This story is the kind I'd rather leave in the dust. But I can't do that."

            "So tell us, sugar-hog! We'll live it together!"

            Murmurs of agreement followed Bunnie's unhesitant declaration. Sonic finally launched into his tale, haphazardly at first, but with increasing confidence. "So, they killed Hawson," he said as he moved towards the end. "I was just standin' there, listenin' to him squirm as Rashid just stood there. And then I heard some kinda rippin', and then a thump, and then everyone leaves as if nothing happened. It was mondo weird," Sonic said.

            "So what happened next?" Sally prodded.

            "Oi, oi, I am hearing with much attentionment," gibbered Antoine.

            "That's really it," said Sonic. "The nomads'll take care of James and Dirla, and they're gonna stay away from Robuttnik. I tried to get 'em to change their minds, but Rashid wouldn't budge."

            "That's the way things go sometimes," said Sally.

            "Nuh-uh, Sal. I kept wishin' you were there." There was silence for a second. "Oh, Bunnie, Sandy said to say hi. What's that all about?"

            Bunnie's blush was microscopic. "I do declare… Nuthin', sugar-hog."

            Sonic shrugged. "So that's it. I can't make a speech, but I guess I am glad I went. We took out kite reller and busted those druggies."

            "You did a good job, too, Sonic," said Rotor. Everyone clapped again.

            There were a few moments of silence, and then Sally stood. "That's all for tonight. I am tired beyond belief, and I know that Sonic is too, so I'm going to bed. Good night, everyone!" After a final round of clapping and the suppression of the fire, the crowd dispersed to their various huts.

            Sonic and Sally remained. They walked together towards their huts. "Hey, Sal."

            "Yes, Sonic?"

            "What's withdrawal?"

            "What?"

            "I heard it once or twice. What's withdrawal?"

            "Let's ask Nicole," Sally said. The definition made them both shiver.

            "Major bummer," Sonic said.

            "All those animals," said Sally as she shook her head. "Hawson's entire community. Without the nomads giving them drugs..."

            "Can we help 'em?"

            "I wish we could. But we don't know enough about it, and I don't know anyone with that kind of knowledge."

            "Some of those doctors up north?"

            Sally thought. "Maybe, Sonic. Hopefully, we'll have beaten Robotnik by then and we can take care of this the right way."

            Sonic snorted. "Yeah, but that annoying lard ball refuses to give up. We oughta go talk to him about that."

            "Don't play cute with me, Sonic Hedgehog," Sally said with a smile. "There is one other option for those animals."

            Sonic thought on it for a second, then looked up in alarm. "No way, Sal. You can't be thinkin' that! Can you?… No way!"

            "Yes, Sonic. That. We might be able to save them with Roboticisation."

            "No way, Sal!"

            "Just a thought," said Sally.

            "Yeah, well, that's not funny!"

            "You are talking about things that aren't funny? You, Sonic Hedgehog?"

            "I think I've been insulted."

            Sally laughed as they finally came to a stop. "I missed you, Sonic."

            "I missed you too, Sal." There was a pause, then Sally got fed up and kissed Sonic. Then she turned tail and marched up to her hut. 

            "Good night, Sonic."

            Sonic was still a bit stunned, but finally cracked a broad smile. "See you tomorrow, Sal," he whispered as he went up to his hut.

            The village of Knothole slept peacefully.

FIN

Disclaimer and legal stuff

This story uses characters and situations that this author has used entirely without permission. These belong to one or more of the following: SEGA, Dic, and Archie Comics. Princess Sandy Acorn is copyright Daniel Drazen. The author neither claims the aforementioned characters and situations as his own inventions nor plans to profit off of this story in any way. This story is copyright Sam Durbin, a.k.a. Bryon Nightshade. Copying, editing, stealing characters from, attempting to profit from, or otherwise abusing this manuscript is both annoying and illegal.


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